Use of inhibtors of glutaminyl cyclases for treatment and prevention of disease

ABSTRACT

Novel physiological substrates of mammalian glutaminyl cyclase (QC, EC 2.3.2.5), new effectors of QC, methods for screening for such effectors, and the use of such effectors and pharmaceutical compositions comprising such effectors for the treatment of conditions that can be treated by modulation of QC-activity. Preferred compositions additionally comprise inhibitors of DP IV or DP IV-like enzymes for the treatment or alleviation of conditions that can be treated by modulation of QC- and DP IV-activity.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/839,017, filed on May 5, 2004, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,381,537 on Jun. 3, 2008, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/468,014, filed on May 5, 2003; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/468,043, filed on May 5, 2003; and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/512,038, filed on Oct. 15, 2003. Each of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety to the extent permitted by law. The present application also claims priority to all three Provisional applications.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE OF SEQUENCE LISTING

The Sequence Listing, which is a part of the present disclosure, includes a computer readable form and a written sequence listing comprising nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences of the present invention. The sequence listing information recorded in computer readable form is identical to the written sequence listing. The subject matter of the Sequence Listing is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to glutaminyl cyclase (QC, EC 2.3.2.5) that catalyzes the intramolecular cyclization of N-terminal glutamine residues into pyroglutamic acid (5-oxo-proline, pGlu*) under liberation of ammonia and the intramolecular cyclization of N-terminal glutamate residues into pyroglutamic acid under liberation of water.

The present invention identifies mammalian QCs as metalloenzymes, provides novel physiological substrates of QC in mammals and the use of effectors of QC and pharmaceutical compositions comprising effectors of QC for the treatment of conditions that can be treated by modulation of QC-activity. Additionally, it is shown that metal interaction is a useful approach for development of QC inhibitors.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides the use of effectors of QC activity in combination with inhibitors of DP IV or DP IV-like enzymes for the treatment or alleviation of conditions that can be treated by modulation of QC- and/or DP IV-activity.

A screening method is also provided for the identification and selection of effectors of QC activity.

BACKGROUND

Glutaminyl cyclase (QC, EC 2.3.2.5) catalyzes the intramolecular cyclization of N-terminal glutamine residues into pyroglutamic acid (pGlu*) liberating ammonia. A QC was first isolated by Messer from the latex of the tropical plant Carica papaya in 1963 (Messer, M. 1963 Nature 4874, 1299). 24 years later, a corresponding enzymatic activity was discovered in animal pituitary (Busby, W. H. J. et al. 1987 J Biol Chem 262, 8532-8536; Fischer, W. H. and Spiess, J. 1987 Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 84, 3628-3632). For the mammalian QC, the conversion of Gln into pGlu by QC could be shown for the precursors of TRH and GnRH (Busby, W. H. J. et al. 1987 J Biol Chem 262, 8532-8536; Fischer, W. H. and Spiess, J. 1987 Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 84, 3628-3632). In addition, initial localization experiments of QC revealed a co-localization with its putative products of catalysis in bovine pituitary, further improving the suggested function in peptide hormone synthesis (Bockers, T. M. et al. 1995 J Neuroendocrinol 7, 445-453). In contrast, the physiological function of the plant QC is less clear. In case of the enzyme from C. papaya, a role in the plant defense against pathogenic microorganisms was suggested (El Moussaoui, A. et al. 2001 Cell Mol Life Sci 58, 556-570). Putative QCs from other plants were identified by sequence comparisons recently (Dahl, S. W. et al. 2000 Protein Expr Purif 20, 27-36) The physiological function of these enzymes, however, is still ambiguous.

The QCs known from plants and animals show a strict specificity for L-Glutamine in the N terminal position of the substrates and their kinetic behavior was found to obey the Michaelis-Menten equation (Pohl, T. et al. 1991 Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 88, 10059-10063; Consalvo, A. P. et al. 1988 Anal Biochem 175, 131-138; Gololobov, M. Y. et al. 1996 Biol Chem Hoppe Seyler 377, 395-398). A comparison of the primary structures of the QCs from C. papaya and that of the highly conserved QC from mammals, however, did not reveal any sequence homology (Dahl, S. W. et al. 2000 Protein Expr Purif 20, 27-36). Whereas the plant QCs appear to belong to a new enzyme family (Dahl, S. W. et al. 2000 Protein Expr Purif 20, 27-36), the mammalian QCs were found to have a pronounced sequence homology to bacterial aminopeptidases (Bateman, R. C. et al. 2001 Biochemistry 40, 11246-11250), leading to the conclusion that the QCs from plants and animals have different evolutionary origins.

EP 02 011 349.4 discloses polynucletides encoding insect glutaminyl cyclase, as well as polypeptides encoded thereby. This application further provides host cells comprising expression vectors comprising polynucleotides of the invention. Isolated polypeptides and host cells comprising insect QC are useful in methods of screening for agents that reduce glutaminyl cyclase activity. Such agents are described as useful as pesticides.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by abnormal accumulation of extracellular amyloidotic plaques closely associated with dystrophic neurones, reactive astrocytes and microglia (Terry, R. D. and Katzman, R. 1983 Ann Neurol 14, 497-506; Glenner, G. G. and Wong, C. W. 1984 Biochem Biophys Res Comm 120, 885-890; Intagaki, S. et al. 1989 J Neuroimmunol 24, 173-182; Funato, H. et al. 1998 Am J Pathol 152, 983-992; Selkoe, D. J. 2001 Physiol Rev 81, 741-766). Amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides are the primary components of senile plaques and are considered to be directly involved in the pathogenesis and progression of AD, a hypothesis supported by genetic studies (Glenner, G. G. and Wong, C. W. 1984 Biochem Biophys Res Comm 120, 885-890; Borchelt, D. R. et al. 1996 Neuron 17, 1005-1013; Lemere, C. A. et al. 1996 Nat Med 2, 1146-1150; Mann, D. M. and Iwatsubo, T. 1996 Neurodegeneration 5, 115-120; Citron, M. et al. 1997 Nat Med 3, 67-72; Selkoe, D. J. 2001 Physiol Rev 81, 741-766). Aβ is generated by proteolytic processing of the β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) (Kang, J. et al. 1987 Nature 325, 733-736; Selkoe, D. J. 1998 Trends Cell Biol 8, 447-453), which is sequentially cleaved by β-secretase at the N-terminus and by γ-secretase at the C-terminus of Aβ (Haass, C. and Selkoe, D. J. 1993 Cell 75, 1039-1042; Simons, M. et al. 1996 JNeurosci 16 899-908). In addition to the dominant Aβ peptides starting with L-Asp at the N-terminus (Aβ1-42/40), a great heterogeneity of N-terminally truncated forms occurs in senile plaques. Such shortened peptides are reported to be more neurotoxic in vitro and to aggregate more rapidly than the full-length isoforms (Pike, C. J. et al. 1995 J Biol Chem 270 23895-23898). N-truncated peptides are known to be overproduced in early onset familial AD (FAD) subjects (Saido, T. C. et al. 1995 Neuron 14, 457-466; Russo, C. et al. 2000 Nature 405, 531-532), to appear early and to increase with age in Down's syndrome (DS) brains (Russo, C. et al. 1997 FEBS Lett 409, 411-416, Russo, C. et al. 2001 Neurobiol Dis 8, 173-180; Tekirian, T. L. et al. 1998 J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 57, 76-94). Finally, their amount reflects the progressive severity of the disease (Russo, C. et al. 1997 FEBS Lett 409, 411-416). Additional post-translational processes may further modify the N-terminus by isomerization or racemization of the aspartate at position 1 and 7 and by cyclization of glutamate at residues 3 and 11. Pyroglutamate-containing isoforms at position 3 [pGlu³]Aβ3-40/42] represent the prominent forms—approximately 50% of the total Aβ amount—of the N-truncated species in senile plaques (Mori, H. et al. 1992 J Biol Chem 267, 17082-17086, Saido, T. C. et al. 1995 Neuron 14, 457-466; Russo, C. et al. 1997 FEBS Lett 409, 411-416; Tekirian, T. L. et al. 1998 J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 57, 76-94; Geddes, J. W. et al. 1999 Neurobiol Aging 20, 75-79; Harigaya, Y. et al. 2000 Biochem Biophys Res Commun 276, 422-427) and they are also present in pre-amyloid lesions (Lalowski, M. et al. 1996 J Biol Chem 271, 33623-33631). The accumulation of AβN3(pE) peptides is likely due to the structural modification that enhances aggregation and confers resistance to most amino-peptidases (Saido, T. C. et al. 1995 Neuron 14, 457-466; Tekirian, T. L. et al. 1999 J Neurochem 73, 1584-1589). This evidence provides clues for a pivotal role of AβN3(pE) peptides in AD pathogenesis. However, relatively little is known about their neurotoxicity and aggregation properties (He, W. and Barrow, C. J. 1999 Biochemistry 38, 10871-10877; Tekirian, T. L. et al. 1999 J Neurochem 73, 1584-1589). Moreover, the action of these isoforms on glial cells and the glial response to these peptides are completely unknown, although activated glia is strictly associated to senile plaques and might actively contribute to the accumulation of amyloid deposits. In recent studies the toxicity, aggregation properties and catabolism of Aβ1-42, Aβ1-40, [pGluβ]Aβ3-42 and [pGluβ]Aβ3-40 peptides were investigated in neuronal and glial cell cultures, and it was shown that pyroglutamate modification exacerbates the toxic properties of Aβ-peptides and also inhibits their degradation by cultured astrocytes. Shirotani et al. investigated the generation of [pGluβ]Aβ peptides in primary cortical neurons infected by Sindbis virus in vitro. They constructed amyloid precursor protein complementary DNAs, which encoded a potential precursor for [pGluβ]Aβ by amino acid substitution and deletion. For one artificial precursor starting with a N-terminal glutamine residue instead of glutamate in the natural precursor, a spontaneous conversion or an enzymatic conversion by glutaminyl cyclase to pyroglutamate was suggested. The cyclization mechanism of N-terminal glutamate at position 3 in the natural precursor of [pGluβ]Aβ was not determined in vivo (Shirotani, K., Tsubuki, S., Lee, H. J., Maruyama, K., and Saido, T. C. (2002) Neurosci Lett 327, 25-28)

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DP IV) is a post-proline (to a lesser extent post-alanine, post-serine or post-glycine) cleaving serine protease found in various tissues of the body including kidney, liver, and intestine and cleaves N-terminal dipeptides from a peptide chain. Recently it was shown that DP IV plays an important role in neuropeptide metabolism, T-cell activation, attachment of cancer cells to the endothelium and the entry of HIV into lymphoid cells. See therefore WO 02/34242, WO 02/34243, WO 03/002595 and WO 03/002596.

It is known that DP IV inhibitors may be useful for the treatment of impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes mellitus (International Patent Application, Publication Number WO 99/61431, Pederson, R. A. et al. 1998 Diabetes 47, 1253-1258 and Pauly, R. P. et al. 1999 Metabolism 48, 385-389). In particular WO 99/61431 discloses DP IV inhibitors comprising an amino acid residue and a thiazolidine or pyrrolidine group, and salts thereof, especially L-threo-isoleucyl thiazolidine, L-allo-isoleucyl thiazolidine, L-threo-isoleucyl pyrrolidine, L-allo-isoleucyl thiazolidine, L-allo-isoleucyl pyrrolidine, and salts thereof.

Further examples of low molecular weight dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitors are agents such as tetrahydroisoquinolin-3-carboxamide derivatives, N-substituted 2-cyanopyroles and -pyrrolidines, N—(N′-substituted glycyl)-2-cyanopyrrolidines, N-(substituted glycyl)-thiazolidines, N-(substituted glycyl)-4-cyanothiazolidines, amino-acyl-borono-prolyl-inhibitors, cyclopropyl-fused pyrrolidines and heterocyclic compounds. Inhibitors of dipeptidyl peptidase IV are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,380,398, U.S. Pat. No. 6,011,155; U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,317; U.S. Pat. No. 6,110,949; U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,305; U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,081; WO 95/15309, WO 99/61431, WO 99/67278, WO 99/67279, DE 198 34 591, WO 97/40832, DE 196 16 486 C 2, WO 98/19998, WO 00/07617, WO 99/38501, WO 99/46272, WO 99/38501, WO 01/68603, WO 01/40180, WO 01/81337, WO 01/81304, WO 01/55105, WO 02/02560 and WO 02/14271, WO 02/04610, WO 02/051836, WO 02/068420, WO 02/076450; WO 02/083128, WO 02/38541, WO 03/000180, WO 03/000181, WO 03/000250, WO 03/002530, WO 03/002531, WO 03/002553, WO 03/002593, WO 03/004496, WO 03/024942 and WO 03/024965, the teachings of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety, especially concerning these inhibitors, their definition, uses and their production.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides novel physiological substrates of QC in mammals, Aβ3-40/42, [Gln³]Aβ-40/42, [Glu¹¹]Aβ11-40/42, [Gln¹¹]Aβ1-40/42, [Gln¹]Gastrin, [Gln¹]Neurotensin, [Gln¹]FPP, [Gln¹]CCL 2, [Gln¹]CCL 7, [Gln¹]CCL 8, [Gln¹]CCL 16, [Gln¹]CCL 18, [Gln¹]Fractalkine, [Gln¹]Orexin A, [Gln³]glucagon3-29 and [Gln⁵]substance P5-11 and the use of effectors of QC and pharmaceutical compositions comprising effectors of QC for the treatment of conditions that can be treated by modulation of QC activity.

It was shown by inhibition studies that human QC is a metal-dependent transferase. QC apoenzyme could be reactivated most efficiently by zinc ions, and the metal-binding motif of zinc-dependent aminopeptidases is also present in human QC. Compounds interacting with the active-site bound metal are potent inhibitors.

Unexpectedly, it was shown that recombinant human QC as well as QC-activity from brain extracts catalyze both, the N-terminal glutaminyl as well as glutamate cyclization. Most striking is the finding, that cyclase-catalyzed Glu¹-conversion is favored around pH 6.0 while Gln¹-conversion to pGlu-derivatives occurs with a pH-optimum of around 8.0. Since the formation of pGlu-Aβ-related peptides can be suppressed by inhibition of recombinant human QC and QC activity from pig pituitary extracts, the enzyme QC is a target in drug development for treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

By administering effectors of QC activity to a mammal it can be possible to prevent or alleviate or treat conditions selected from Alzheimer's disease, Down Syndrome, ulcer disease and gastric cancer with or w/o Heliobacter pylori infections, pathogenic psychotic conditions, schizophrenia, infertility, neoplasia, inflammatory host responses, cancer, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, impaired humoral and cell-mediated immune responses, leukocyte adhesion and migration processes in the endothelium, impaired food intake, sleep-wakefulness, impaired homeostatic regulation of energy metabolism, impaired autonomic function, impaired hormonal balance and impaired regulation of body fluids.

Further, by administration of effectors of QC activity to a mammal it can be possible to stimulate gastrointestinal tract cell proliferation, preferably proliferation of gastric mucosal cells, epithelial cells, acute acid secretion and the differentiation of acid producing parietal cells and histamine enterochromaffin-like cells.

Furthermore, by administration of effectors of QC activity to a mammal it can be possible to suppress the proliferation of myeloid progenitor cells.

In addition, administration of QC inhibitors can lead to suppression of male fertility.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides the use of effectors of QC activity in combination with inhibitors of DP IV or DP IV-like enzymes for the treatment or alleviation of conditions that can be treated by modulation of QC- and/or DP IV-activity.

The present invention provides pharmaceutical compositions for parenteral, enteral or oral administration, comprising at least one effector of QC optionally in combination with customary carriers and/or excipients; or comprising at least one effector of QC in combination with at least one DP IV-inhibitor, optionally in combination with customary carriers and/or excipients.

Screening methods are also provided for the identification and selection of effectors of QC.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further understanding of these and other aspects of the present invention will be had by reference to the figures wherein:

FIG. 1 shows progress curves of the cyclization of H-Gin-Ala-OH, catalyzed by human QC, monitoring the decrease in absorbance at 340 nm. The samples contained 0.3 mM NADH/H⁺, 14 mM α-Ketoglutaric acid, 30 U/ml glutamic dehydrogenase and 1 mM H-Gln-Ala-OH. From curve A-D, varying concentrations of QC were applied: A, 10 mU/ml, B, 5 mU/ml, C, 2.5 mU/ml. In case of curve D, QC was omitted. A linear relationship was obtained between the QC concentration and the observed activity (inset).

FIG. 2 shows the pH dependence of human and papaya (inset) QC, determined under first-order rate conditions using Gln-,βNA as substrate. In case of human QC, a buffer system providing a constant ionic strength according to Ellis and Morrison was used, consisting of 25 mM MES, 25 mM acetic acid and 50 mM Tris (Ellis, K. J. and Morrison, J. F. 1982 Methods Enzymol. 87, 405-426). Due to a slightly inhibiting effect of Tris, papaya QC was investigated using a 50 mM Mops buffer. The ionic strength was adjusted to 0.05 M by addition of NaCl. The rate profiles were evaluated by fitting to a model that is based on dissociating groups. In case of papaya QC, a pKa of 7.13±0.03 was obtained by fitting of the data to a single dissociation model.

FIG. 3 shows the effect of the pH on the stability of the QC from Papaya latex and human QC. An enzyme stock solution was diluted 20-fold in 0.1 M buffer of various pH values (pH 4-7 sodium citrate, pH 7-10 sodium phosphate). Enzyme solutions were incubated at 30° C. for 30 min and subsequently enzymatic activity was analyzed according to the standard protocol.

FIG. 4 shows the comparison of the specificity constant k_(cat)/K_(M) for a set of substrates containing glutamate in the second amino acid position (peptides are disclosed as SEQ ID NOS 23, 24, 26, 22, and 25, respectively in order of appearance from left to right). Whereas an increase in specificity of human QC was detected from the di- to the tetrapeptides, no change was observed in case of papaya QC. The data presented here is a replot of the parameters given in Table 3.

FIG. 5 shows the formation of pGlu-Lys(pGlu)-Arg-Leu-Ala-NH² from H-Gln-Lys(Gln)-Arg-Leu-Ala-NH², catalyzed by human QC. Substrate conversion is monitored by a time-dependent change in the m/z ratio due to the expulsion of ammonia. The sample composition was 0.5 mM substrate, 38 nM QC in 40 mM Tris/HCI, pH 7.7. At the times indicated, samples were removed from the assay tube, mixed with matrix solution (1:1 v/v) and subsequently the mass spectra recorded. A very similar dependence was observed in case of papaya QC.

FIG. 6 shows the formation of pGlu-Phe-Lys-Ala-Glu-NH² (SEQ ID NO: 1) from H-Gln(NMe)-Phe-Lys-Ala-Glu-NH² (SEQ ID NO: 2) catalyzed by papaya QC. Substrate conversion is monitored by a time-dependent in the m/z ratio due to the expulsion of methylamine. The sample composition was 0.5 mM substrate, 0.65 μM papaya QC in 40 mM Tris/HCI, pH 7.7. At the times indicated, samples were removed from the assay tube, mixed with matrix solution (1:1 v/v) and subsequently the mass spectra recorded. No substrate conversion was observed in samples without papaya QC or by applying up to 1.5 μM human QC to the substrate (not shown).

FIG. 7 shows the formation of [Gln³]-Aβ3-11 from [Gln³]Aβ1-11 catalysed by DPIV. At the times indicated, samples were removed, from the assay tube, mixed with matrix solution (1:1 v/v) and subsequently the mass spectra recorded.

FIG. 8 shows the prevention of the cleavage of [Gln³]Aβ1-11 by the DP IV-inhibitor Val-Pyrrolidide (Val-Pyrr). At the times indicated, samples were removed from the assay tube, mixed with matrix solution (1:1 v/v) and subsequently the mass spectra recorded.

FIG. 9 shows the formation of [pGlu³]Aβ3-11 from [Gln³]Aβ3-11 catalyzed by QC. At the 30 times indicated, samples were removed from the assay tube, mixed with matrix solution (1:1 v/v) and subsequently the mass spectra recorded.

FIG. 10 shows the inhibition of the formation of [pGlu³]Aβ3-11 from [Gln³]Aβ3-11 by the QC-inhibitor 1,10-phenanthroline. At the times indicated from the assay tube, samples were removed, mixed with matrix solution (1:1 v/v) and subsequently the mass spectra recorded.

FIG. 11 shows the formation of [pGlu³]Af 3-11 from [Gln³]Aβ1-11 after consecutive catalysis by DP IV and QC. At the times indicated, samples were removed from the assay tube, mixed with matrix solution (1:1 v/v) and subsequently the mass spectra recorded.

FIG. 12 shows the inhibition of [pGlu³]Aβ3-11 formation from [Gln³]Aβ1-11 by the QC inhibitor 1,10-phenanthroline in the presence of catalytically active DP IV and QC. At the times indicated, samples were removed from the assay tube, mixed with matrix solution (1:1 v/v) and subsequently the mass spectra recorded.

FIG. 13 shows the reduction of [pGlu³]Aβ3-11 formation from [Gln³]Aβ1-11 by the DP IV inhibitor Val-Pyrr in the presence of catalytically active DP IV and QC. At the times indicated, samples were removed from the assay mixture, mixed with matrix solution (1:1 v/v) and subsequently the mass spectra recorded.

FIG. 14 shows the formation of [pGlu³]Aβ-peptide3-11 from [Gln³]Aβ1-11 after consecutive catalysis by aminopeptidase(s) and QC that are present in porcine pituitary homogenate. At the times indicated, samples were removed from the assay tube, mixed with matrix solution (1:1 v/v) and subsequently the mass spectra recorded.

FIGS. 15 A and B show Mass spectra of Aβ3-11a and Aβ3-21a incubated with recombinant human QC, that was boiled for 10 min before use. C and D show Mass spectra of Aβ3-11 and Aβ3-21a in presence of active human QC resulting in the formation of [pGlu³]A(33-11a and [pGIu³]Aβ3-21a, respectively. E and F show Mass spectra of Aβ3-11a and Aβ3-21a in presence of active QC and 5 mM Benzimidazole suppressing the formation of [pGlu3]formation.

FIG. 16 shows reaction rates of papaya QC-catalyzed Glu-βNA-conversion plotted against the substrate concentration. The initial rates were measured in 0.1 M pyrophosphate buffer, pH 6.1 (squares), 0.1 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.5 (circles) and 0.1 M borate buffer, pH 8.5 (triangles). The kinetic parameters were as follows: K_(M)=1.13±0.07 mM, k_(cat)=1.13±0.04 min⁻¹ (pH 6.1); K_(M)=1.45±0.03 mM, k_(cat)=0.92±0.01 min−1 (pH 7.5); K_(M)=1.76±0.06 mM, k_(cat)=0.56±0.01 min⁻¹ (pH 8.5).

FIG. 17 shows the pH-dependence of the conversion of Gln-βNA (circles) and Glu-βNA (squares), determined under first-order rate-law conditions (S<<K_(M)). Substrate concentration was 0.01 mM and 0.25 mM, respectively. For both determinations, a three-component buffer system was applied consisting of 0.05 M acetic acid, 0.05 M pyrophosphoric acid and 0.05 M Tricine. All buffers were adjusted to equal conductivity by addition of NaCl, in order to avoid differences in ionic strength. The data were fitted to equations that account for two dissociating groups revealing pK_(a)-values of 6.91±0.02 and 9.5±0.1 for Gln-βNA and 4.6±0.1 and 7.55±0.02 for Glu-βNA. The pKa-values of the respective substrate amino groups, determined by titration, were 6.97±0.01 (Gln-βNA) and 7.57±0.05 (Glu-βNA). All determinations were carried out at 30° C.

FIG. 18 shows progress curves of human QC-catalyzed cyclization of H-Gln-AMC in presence of imidazole, dipicolinic acid and in absence of an inhibitory compound. The hyperbolic shape of the curve in presence of dipicolinic acid indicates metal ion remove from the active site of QC.

FIG. 19 shows the time-dependent inactivation of QC by the heterocyclic chelator 1,10-phenanthroline. After incubation of the QC-enzyme with the inhibitor in absence of substrate (continuous line), a reduced enzymatic activity was observed compared to samples that were not preincubated with inhibitor (dotted trace), indicating metal ion remove from the active site of QC.

FIG. 20 shows the reactivation of human QC with monovalent- and divalent metal ions. QC was inactivated by addition of 2 mM dipicolinic acid in 50 mM Bis-Tris, pH 6.8. Subsequently, the enzyme was subjected to dialysis against 50 mM Bis-Tris, pH 6.8, containing 1.0 mM 30 EDTA. Reactivation of the enzymes was achieved by incubation of the inactivated enzyme sample with metal ions at a concentration of 0.5 mM, in presence of 0.5 mM EDTA in order to avoid an unspecific reactivation by traces of metal ions present in buffer solutions. Controls are given by enzyme samples that were not inactivated, but also dialyzed against EDTA solution as the inactivated enzyme (+EDTA) and enzyme samples that were dialyzed against buffer solutions without added EDTA (−EDTA).

FIG. 21 Sequence alignment of human QC (hQC) and other M28 family members of the metallopeptidase Clan MH. Multiple sequence alignment was performed using ClustalW at ch.EMBnet.org with default settings. The conservation of the zinc-ion ligating residues is shown for human QC (hQC; GenBank X71125), the Zn-dependent aminopeptidase from Streptomyces griseus (SGAP; Swiss-Prot P80561), and within the N-acetylated-alpha-linked acidic dipeptidase (NAALADase I) domain (residues 274-587) of the human Glutamate carboxypeptidase II (hGCP II; Swiss-Prot Q04609). The amino acids involved in metal binding are typed in bold and underlined. In case of human QC, these residues are the putative counterparts to the peptidases.

PEPTIDE SEQUENCES

The peptides mentioned and used herein have the following sequences:

Aβ1-42: (SEQ ID NO: 39) Asp-Ala-Glu-Phe-Arg-His-Asp-Ser-Gly-Tyr-Glu-Val- His-His-Gln-Lys-Leu-Val-Phe-Phe-Ala-Glu-Asp-Val- Gly-Ser-Asn-Lys-Gly-Ala-Ile-Ile-Gly-Leu-Met-Val- Gly-Gly-Val-Val-lle-Ala Aβ1-40: (SEQ ID NO: 40) Asp-Ala-Glu-Phe-Arg-His-Asp-Ser-Gly-Tyr-Glu-Val- His-His-Gln-Lys-Leu-Val-Phe-Phe-Ala-Glu-Asp-Val- Gly-Ser-Asn-Lys-Gly-Ala-Ile-Ile-Gly-Leu-Met-Val- Gly-Gly-Val-Val Aβ3-42: (SEQ ID NO: 41) Glu-Phe-Arg-His-Asp-Ser-Gly-Tyr-Glu-Val-His-His- Gln-Lys-Leu-Val-Phe-Phe-Ala-Glu-Asp-Val-Gly-Ser- Asn-Lys-Gly-Ala-Ile-Ile-Gly-Leu-Met-Val-Gly-Gly- Val-Val-Ile-Ala Aβ3-40: (SEQ ID NO: 42) Glu-Phe-Arg-His-Asp-Ser-Gly-Tyr-Glu-Val-His-His- Gln-Lys-Leu-Val-Phe-Phe-Ala-Glu-Asp-Val-Gly-Ser- Asn-Lys-Gly-Ala-Ile-Ile-Gly-Leu-Met-Val-Gly-Gly- Val-Val Aβ1-11a: (SEQ ID NO: 43) Asp-Ala-Glu-Phe-Arg-His-Asp-Ser-Gly-Tyr-Glu-NH₂ Aβ3-11a: (SEQ ID NO: 44) Glu-Phe-Arg-His-Asp-Ser-Gly-Tyr-Glu-NH₂ Aβ1-21a: (SEQ ID NO: 45) Asp-Ala-Glu-Phe-Arg-His-Asp-Ser-Gly-Tyr-Glu-Val- His-His-Gln-Lys-Leu-Val-Phe-Phe-Ala-NH₂ Aβ3-21a: (SEQ ID NO: 46) Glu-Phe-Arg-His-Asp-Ser-Gly-Tyr-Glu-Val-His-His- Gln-Lys-Leu-Val-Phe-Phe-Ala-NH₂ Gln³-Aβ3-40: (SEQ ID NO: 47) Gln-Phe-Arg-His-Asp-Ser-Gly-Tyr-Glu-Val-His-His- Gln-Lys-Leu-Val-Phe-Phe-Ala-Glu-Asp-Val-Gly-Ser- Asn-Lys-Gly-Ala-Ile-Ile-Gly-Leu-Met-Val-Gly-Gly- Val-Val Gln³-Aβ3-21a: (SEQ ID NO: 48) Gln-Phe-Arg-His-Asp-Ser-Gly-Tyr-Glu-Val-His-His- Gln-Lys-Leu-Val-Phe-Phe-Ala-NH₂ Gln³-Aβ1-11a: (SEQ ID NO: 49) Asp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Arg-His-Asp-Ser-Gly-Tyr-Glu-NH₂ Gln³-Aβ3-11a: (SEQ ID NO: 50) Gln-Phe-Arg-His-Asp-Ser-Gly-Tyr-Glu-NH₂

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides effectors of glutaminyl cyclase (QC) for

-   -   a) the treatment of diseases in mammals that can be treated by         modulation of QC activity in vivo and/or     -   b) b) the modulation of physiological processes based on the         action of pGlu-containing peptides caused by modulation of QC         activity.

Furthermore, the present invention provides compounds for the inhibition of glutaminyl cyclase (QC, EC 2.3.2.5) and/or QC-like enzymes in a mammal and the use of inhibitors of QC activity for the treatment of pathological conditions related to QC activity.

The present invention also provides a new method for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and Down Syndrome. The N-termini of amyloid β-peptides deposited in Alzheimer's disease and Down syndrome brain bear pyroglutamic acid. The pGlu formation is an important event in the development and progression in the disease, since the modified amyloid β-peptides show an enhanced tendency to β-amyloid aggregation and toxicity, likely worsening the onset and progression of the disease. (Russo, C. et al. 2002 J Neurochem 82, 1480-1489).

In contrast, in the natural Aβ-peptides (3-40/42), glutamic acid is present as an N-terminal amino acid. There is no enzymic conversion of Glu to pGlu known to date. Moreover, spontaneous cyclization of Glu-peptides to pGlu-peptides has not been observed as yet. Therefore one aspect of the present invention was to determine the role of QC in Alzheimer's disease and Down Syndrome. This aspect was addressed by the synthesis of Aβ3-11 and Aβ1-11, containing the amino acid glutamine instead of glutamic acid at position three, the determination of the substrate characteristics of these modified amyloid β-peptides against QC, DP IV and DP IV-like enzymes and aminopeptidases and the use of inhibitors of QC to prevent the formation of pGlu from a N-terminal glutaminyl residue of the amyloid β-derived peptides 1-11 and 3-11. The results are shown in example 8. The applied method is described in example 3.

To date, there are no hints indicating an involvement of QC in the progression of the disease, because glutamic acid is the N-terminal amino acid in Aβ (3-40/42, or 11-40/42). But, QC is the only known enzyme capable of forming pGlu at the N-terminus of peptides. Other aspects of the present invention concern the following findings and discoveries:

-   -   a) In a side reaction, QC catalyzes the cyclization of glutamic         acid to pyroglutamic acid at very low rates,     -   b) Glutamic acid of APP or its subsequently formed         amyloid-β-peptides is converted into glutamine         post-translationally by an unknown enzymatic activity and in a         second step, QC catalyzes the cyclization of glutamine into         pyroglutamic acid after processing of the amyloid β-peptide         N-terminus,     -   c) Glutamic acid is converted into glutamine         post-translationally by a chemical catalysis or autocatalysis         and subsequently, QC catalyzes the cyclization of glutamine to         pyroglutamic acid after processing of the amyloid β-peptide         N-terminus,     -   d) There are mutations in the APP gene, which encode the amyloid         β-protein, leading to Gln instead of Glu in position 3. After         translation and processing of the N-terminus, QC catalyzes the         cyclization of glutamine to pyroglutamic acid,     -   e) Glutamine is incorporates into the nascent peptide chain of         APP, due to a malfunction of an unknown enzymatic activity and         subsequently, QC catalyzes the cyclization of N-terminally         glutamine to pyroglutamic acid after processing of the amyloid         β-peptide N-terminus.

QC is involved in the critical step in all five cases listed above, namely the formation of pyroglutamic acid that favors the aggregation of amyloid β-peptides. Thus, an inhibition of QC leads to a prevention of the precipitation of the plaque-forming Aβ3-40/41/43 or Aβ11-40/41/43, causing the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease and Down Syndrome, independently of the mechanism by which cyclization occurs.

Glutamate is found in positions 3, 11 and 22 of the amyloid β-peptide. Among them the mutation from glutamic acid (E) to glutamine (Q) in position 22 (corresponding to amyloid precursor protein APP 693, Swissprot P05067) has been described as the so called Dutch type cerebroarterial amyloidosis mutation.

The β-amyloid peptides with a pyroglutamic acid residue in position 3, 11 and/or 22 have been described to be more cytotoxic and hydrophobic than Aβ1-40/42/43 (Saido T. C. 2000 Medical Hypotheses 54(3): 427-429).

The multiple N-terminal variations can be generated by the β-secretase enzyme β-site amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme (BACE) at different sites (Huse J. T. et al. 2002 J. Biol. Chem. 277 (18): 16278-16284), and/or by aminopeptidase processing. In all cases, cyclization can take place according to a)-e) as described above.

So far, there was no experimental evidence supporting the enzymatic conversion of Glu1 peptides into pGlu-peptides by an unknown glutamyl cyclase (EC) corresponding to pathway a) (Garden, R. W., Moroz, T. P., Gleeson, J. M., Floyd, P. D., Li, L. J., Rubakhin, S. S., and Sweedler, J. V. (1999) J Neurochem 72, 676-681; Hosoda R. et al. (1998) J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 57, 1089-1095). To date, no such enzyme activity has been identified, capable to cyclize Glu1-peptides which are protonated N-terminally and possess a negatively charged Gl^(u1) γ-carboxylate moiety under mildly alkaline pH-conditions.

QC-activity against Gln¹-substrates is dramatically reduced below pH 7.0. In contrast, it appears that Glu¹-conversion can occur at acidic reaction conditions (Iwatsubo, T., Saido, T. C., Mann, D. M., Lee, V. M., and Trojanowski, J. Q. (1996) Am J Pathol 149, 1823-1830; Russo, C., Saido, T. C., DeBusk, L. M., Tabaton, M., Gambetti, P., and Teller, J. K. (1977) FEBS Lett 409, 411 416; Russo, C., Salis, S., Dolcini, V., Venezia, V., Song, X. H., Teller, J. K., and Schettini, G. (2001) Neurobiol Dis 8, 173-180; Tekirian, T. L., Saido, T. C., Markesbery, W. R., Russell, M. J., Wekstein, D. R., Patel, E., and Geddes, J. W. (1998) J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 57, 76-94; Russo, C., Violani, E., Salis, S., Venezia, V., Dolcini, V., Damonte, G., Benatti, U., DArrigo, C., Patrone, E., Carlo, P., and Schettini, G. (2002) J Neurochem 82, 1480-1489; Hosoda, R., Saido, T. C., Otvos, L., Jr., Arai, T., Mann, D. M., Lee, V. M., Trojanowski, J. Q., and Iwatsubo, T. (1998) J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 57, 1089-1095; Garden, R. W., Moroz, T. P., Gleeson, J. M., Floyd, P. D., Li, L. J., Rubakhin, S. S., and Sweedler, J. V. (1999) J Neurochem 72, 676-681).

According to the present invention it was investigated whether QC is able to recognize and to turnover amyloid-β derived peptides under mild acidic conditions. Therefore, the peptides [Gln³]Aβ1-11a, Aβ3-11a, [Gln³]Aβ3-11a, Aβ3-21a, [Gln³]Aβ3-21a and [Gln³]Aβ3-40 as potential substrates of the enzyme were synthesized and investigated. These sequences were chosen for mimicking natural N-terminally and C-terminally truncated [Glu³]Aβ peptides and [Gln³]Aβ peptides which could occur due to posttranslational Glu-amidation.

In the present invention it was shown that papaya and human QC catalyze both glutaminyl and glutamyl cyclization. Apparently, the primary physiological function of QC is to finish hormone maturation in endocrine cells by glutamine cyclization prior or during the hormone secretion process. Such secretory vesicles are known to be acidic in pH. Thus, a side activity of the enzyme in the narrow pH-range from 5.0 to 7.0 could be its newly discovered glutamyl cyclase activity transforming also Glu-Aβ peptides. However, due to the much slower occurring Glu-cyclization compared to Gln-conversion, it is questionable whether the glutamyl cyclization plays a significant physiological role. In the pathology of neurodegenerative disorders, however, the glutamyl cyclization is of relevance.

Investigating the pH-dependency of this enzymatic reaction, we found that the unprotonated N-terminus was essential for the cyclization of Gln¹-peptides and accordingly that the pK_(a)-value of the substrate was identical to the pK_(a) value for QC-catalysis (see FIG. 17). Thus, QC stabilizes the intramolecular nucleophilic attack of the unprotonated α-amino moiety on the γ-carbonyl carbon electrophilically activated by amidation (Scheme 1).

In contrast to the monovalent charge present on N-terminal glutamine containing peptides, the N-terminal Glu-residue in Glu-containing peptides is predominantly bivalently charged around neutral pH. Glutamate exhibits pK_(a)-values of about 4.2 and 7.5 for the γ-carboxylic and for the α-amino moiety, respectively. I.e. at neutral pH and above, although the α-amino nitrogen is in part or fully unprotonated and nucleophilic, the γ-carboxylic group is unprotonated, and so exercising no electrophilic carbonyl activity. Hence, intramolecular cyclization is impossible. However, in the pH-range of about 5.2-6.5, between their respective pK_(a)-values, the two functional groups are present both in non-ionized forms, in concentrations of about 1-10% (—NH²) or 10-1% (—COOH) of total N-terminal Glu-containing peptide. As a result, over a mildly acidic pH-range species of N-terminal Glu-peptides are present which carry both groups uncharged, and, therefore, it is possible that QC could stabilize the intermediate of intramolecular cyclization to pGlu-peptide. I.e. if the γ-carboxylic group is protonated, the carbonyl carbon is electrophilic enough to allow nucleophilic attack by the unprotonated α-amino group. At this pH the hydroxyl ion functions as a leaving group (Scheme 3). These assumptions are corroborated by the pH-dependence data obtained for the QC catalyzed conversion of Glu-βNA (see example 11). In contrast to glutamine conversion of Gln-βNA by QC, the pH-optimum of catalysis shifts to the acidic range around pH 6.0, i.e. the pH-range, in which substrate molecule species are simultaneously abundant carrying a protonated γ-carboxyl and unprotonated γ-amino group. Furthermore, the kinetically determined pK_(a)-value of 7.55±0.02 is in excellent agreement with that of the α-amino group of Glu-βNA, determined by titration (7.57±0.05).

Physiologically, at pH 6.0 the second-order rate constant (or specificity constant, k_(cat)/K_(M)) of the QC-catalyzed glutamate cyclization might be in the range of 8,000 fold slower than the one for glutamine cyclization (FIG. 17). However, the nonenzymatic turnover of both model substrates Glu-βNA and Gln-βNA is negligible, being conform with the observed negligible pGlu-peptide formation in the present invention. Hence, for the pGlu-formation by QC an acceleration of at least 10⁸ can be estimated from the ratio of the enzymatic versus non-enzymatic rate constants (comparing the second-order rate constants for the enzyme catalysis with the respective nonenzymatic cyclization first-order rate constants the catalytic proficiency factor is 10⁹-10¹⁰ M⁻¹ for the Gln- and the Glu-conversion, respectively). The conclusion from these data is, that in vivo only an enzymatic path resulting pGlu-formations seems conceivable.

Since QC is highly abundant in the brain and taking into account the high turnover rate of 0.9 min⁻¹ recently found for the maturation of 30 μM of (Gln-)TRH-like peptide (Prokai, L., Prokai-Tatrai, K., Ouyang, X., Kim, H. S., Wu, W. M., Zharikova, A., and Bodor, N. (1999) J Med Chem 42, 4563-4571), one can predict a cyclization half-life of about 100 hours for an appropriate glutamate-substrate, similar reaction conditions provided. Moreover, given compartmentalization and localization of brain QC/EC in the secretory pathway, the actual in vivo enzyme and substrate concentrations and reaction conditions might be even more favorable for the enzymatic cyclization in the intact cell. And, if N-terminal Glu is transformed to Gln a much more rapid pGlu-formation mediated by QC could be expected. In vitro, both reactions were suppressed by applying inhibitors of QC/EC-activity (FIGS. 9, 10 and 15).

In summary, the present invention shows that human QC, which is highly abundant in the brain, is a likely catalyst to the formation of the amyloidogenic pGlu-Aβ peptides from Glu-Aβ and Gln-Aβ precursors which make up more than 50% of the plaque deposits found in Alzheimer's Disease. These findings identify QC/EC as a player in senile plaque formation and thus as a novel drug target in the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease.

In a second embodiment of the present invention, it was found that amyloid β-derived peptides are a substrate of dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DP IV) or DP IV-like enzymes, preferably dipeptidyl peptidase II (DPII). DP IV, DP II or other DP IV-like enzymes release a dipeptide from the N-terminus of the modified amyloid β-peptide (1-11) generating amyloid β-peptide (3-11) with glutamine as the N-terminal amino acid residue. The results are shown in example 8. Prior to cleavage by DP II, DPIV or other DP IV-like enzymes, the peptide bond between aspartic acid (residue 1 of amyloid β-peptide) and alanine (residue 2 of amyloid β-peptide) may be isomerised yielding an isoaspartyl residue as described in the literature (Kuo, Y.-M., Emmerling, M. R., Woods, A. S., Cotter, R. J., Roher, A. E. (1997) BBRC 237, 188-191; Shimizu, T., Watanabe, A., Ogawara, M., Mori, H. and Shirasawa, T. (2000) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 381, 225-234).

These isoaspartyl residues render the amyloid β-peptide resistant against aminopeptidase degradation and consequently the core plaques contain high amounts of isoAsp¹-amyloid β-peptides, which suggests a reduced turnover at the N-terminus.

However, in the present invention it is demonstrated for the first time, that the N-terminal dipeptide H-isoAsp¹-Ala²-OH can be released by dipeptidyl peptidases especially under acidic conditions. Furthermore, it was shown that isomerization can precede also cleavage by β-secretase, and that isomerization may accelerate proteolytic processing, thus leading to liberation of an N-terminal isoaspartyl bond of isoAsp¹-amyloid β-peptides which subsequently is subject to turnover by DP II, DPIV or DP IV-like enzymes (Momand, J. and Clarke, S. (1987) Biochemistry 26, 7798-7805; Kuo, Y.-M., Emmerling, M. R., Woods, A. S., Cotter, R. J., Roher, A. E. (1997) BBRC 237, 188-191). Accordingly, inhibition of isoaspartyl formation may lead to the reduction of cleavage by β-secretase and, in turn, to a reduced formation of amyloid β-peptides. In addition, blockage of the isoAsp1-amyloid β-peptide turnover by inhibition of DP IT, DPIV or DP IV-like enzymes would prevent the exposure of [Glu³]Aβ to QC/EC-catalyzed formation of [pGlu³]Aβ.

In a third embodiment of the present invention, a combination of inhibitors of DP IV-activity and of inhibitors of QC can be used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and Down Syndrome.

The combined effect of DP IV and/or DP IV-like enzymes and of QC is illustrated as follows:

-   -   a) DP IV and/or DP IV-like enzymes cleave Aβ1-40/42, a dipeptide         comprising H-Asp-Ala-OH and Aβ3-40/42 are released,     -   b) In a side reaction, QC catalyzes the cyclization of glutamic         acid to pyroglutamic acid at very low rates,     -   c) Glutamic acid is converted into glutamine at the N-terminus         post translationally by an unknown enzymatic activity and         subsequently, QC catalyzes the cyclization of glutamine into         pyroglutamic acid after processing of the amyloid β-peptide         N-terminus,     -   d) Glutamic acid is converted into glutamine         post-translationally by a chemical catalysis or autocatalysis         and in a second step, QC catalyzes the cyclization of glutamine         into pyroglutamic acid after processing of the amyloid β-peptide         N terminus,     -   e) There are mutations in the APP gene, which encode the amyloid         β-protein, leading to Gln instead of Glu in position 3 of Aβ,         After translation and processing of the N-terminus, QC catalyzes         the cyclization of glutamine to pyroglutamic acid,     -   f) Glutamine is incorporated into the nascent peptide chain of         APP, due to a malfunction of an unknown enzymatic activity and         subsequently, QC catalyzes the cyclization of N-terminally         glutamine to pyroglutamic acid after processing of the amyloid         β-peptide N-terminus,

The N-terminal Gln-exposure to QC-activity can be also triggered by different peptidase activities. Aminopeptidases can remove sequentially Asp and Ala from the N-terminus of Aβ1-40/41/43, thus unmasking amino acid three that is prone to cyclization. Dipeptidyl peptidases, such as DP I, DP II, DP IV, DP 8, DP 9 and DP 10, remove the dipeptide Asp-Ala in one step. Hence, inhibition of aminopeptidase- or dipeptidylpeptidase-activity is useful to prevent the formation of A(β-40/41/43.

The combined effect of inhibitors of DP IV and/or DP IV-like enzymes and of activity lowering effectors of QC is illustrated in the following way:

-   -   a) The inhibitors of DP IV and/or DP IV-like enzymes inhibit the         conversion of Aβ1-40/42 to Aβ3-40/42.     -   b) An N-terminal exposure of glutamic acid is thereby prevented         and no conversion to glutamine, either by enzymatic or by         chemical catalysis, subsequently leading to pyroglutamic acid         formation, is possible.     -   c) Inhibitors of QC prevent in addition the formation         pyroglutamic acid from any residual modified Aβ3-40/42 molecules         and those modified Aβ3-40/42 molecules, which are generated by         mutations of the APP gene.

Within the present invention, a similar combined action of DP IV or DP IV-like enzymes and QC was demonstrated for further peptide hormones, such as glucagon, CC chemokines and substance P.

Glucagon is a 29-amino acid polypeptide released from pancreatic islet alpha-cells that acts to maintain euglycemia by stimulating hepatic glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis. Despite its importance, there remains controversy about the mechanisms responsible for glucagon clearance in the body. Pospisilik et al. assessed the enzymatic metabolism of glucagon using sensitive mass spectrometric techniques to identify the molecular products. Incubation of glucagon with purified porcine dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DP IV) yielded sequential production of glucagon3-29 and glucagon5-29. In human serum, degradation to glucagon3-29 was rapidly followed by N-terminal cyclization of glucagon, preventing further DP IV-mediated hydrolysis. Bioassay of glucagon, following incubation with purified DP IV or normal rat serum demonstrated a significant loss of hyperglycemic activity, while a similar incubation in DP IV-deficient rat serum did not show any loss of glucagon bioactivity. Degradation, monitored by mass spectrometry and bioassay, was blocked by the specific DP IV inhibitor, isoleucyl thiazolidine. These results identify DP IV as a primary enzyme involved in the degradation and inactivation of glucagon. These findings have important implications for the determination of glucagon levels in human plasma (Pospisilik et al., Regul Pept 2001 Jan. 12; 96(3):133-41).

Human Monocyte Chemotactic Protein (MCP)-2 has originally been isolated from stimulated osteosarcoma cells as a chemokine coproduced with MCP-1 and MCP-3. Von Coillie et al. (Van Coillie, E. et al. 1998 Biochemistry 37, 12672-12680) cloned a 5′-end extended MCP-2 cDNA from a human testis cDNA library. It encoded a 76 residue MCP-2 protein, but differed from the reported bone marrow-derived MCP-2 cDNA sequence in codon 46, which coded for a Lys instead of a Gln. This MCP-2Lys46 variant, caused by a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), was biologically compared with MCP-2Gln46. The coding regions were sub-cloned into the bacterial expression vector pHEN1, and after transformation of Escherichia coli, the two MCP-2 protein variants were recovered from the periplasm. Edman degradation revealed a Gln residue at the NH2 terminus instead of a pGlu. rMCP-2Gln46 and rMCP-2Lys46 and the NH²-terminal cyclic counterparts were tested on monocytic cells in calcium mobilization and chemotaxis assays. No significant difference in biological activity was observed between the rMCP-2Gln46 and rMCP-2Lys46 isoforms. However, for both MCP-2 variants the NH²-terminal pyroglutamate 30 was shown to be essential for chemotaxis, but not for calcium mobilization. NH²-terminal truncation of rMCP-2Lys46 by the serine protease CD26/dipeptidyl peptidase IV (CD26/DPP IV) resulted in the release of the NH²-terminal Gln-Pro dipeptide, whereas synthetic MCP-2 with an amino-terminal pGlu remained unaffected. CD26/DPP IV-clipped rMCP-2Lys46(3-76) was almost completely inactive in both chemotaxis and signaling assays. These observations indicated that the NH2-terminal pGlu in MCP-2 is necessary for chemotactic activity but also that it protects the protein against degradation by CD26/DPP IV (van Coillie, E. et al. Biochemistry 1998 37, 12672-80).

Within the present invention, it was determined by LC/MS-analysis that the formation of the N-terminal pyroglutamate residue determined in glucagon3-29 (Pospisilik et al., 2001), and in MCP-2 isoforms (van Coillie et al., 1998), is catalyzed by QC.

In addition, it was proven by LC/MS-investigation that after N-terminal DP IV-catalyzed removal of the two dipeptides Lys-Pro and Arg-Pro from substance P the remaining [Gln⁵]substanceP5-11 is transformed by QC to [pGlu⁵]substanceP5-11.

DP IV inhibitors are disclosed in WO 99/61431. In particular, DP IV inhibitors are disclosed comprising an amino acid residue and a thiazolidine or pyrrolidine group, and salts thereof, especially L-threo-isoleucyl thiazolidine, L-allo-isoleucyl thiazolidine, L-threo-isoleucyl pyrrolidine, L-allo-isoleucyl thiazolidine, L-allo-isoleucyl pyrrolidine, and salts thereof.

Further examples of low molecular weight dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitors are agents such as tetrahydroisoquinolin-3-carboxamide derivatives, N-substituted 2-cyanopyroles and -pyrrolidines, N—(N′-substituted glycyl)-2-cyanopyrrolidines, N-(substituted glycyl)-thiazolidines, N-(substituted glycyl)-4-cyanothiazolidines, amino-acyl-borono-prolyl-inhibitors, cyclopropyl-fused pyrrolidines and heterocyclic compounds. Inhibitors of dipeptidyl peptidase IV are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,380,398, U.S. Pat. No. 6,011,155; U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,317; U.S. Pat. No. 6,110,949; U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,305; U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,081; WO 95/15309, WO 99/61431, WO 99/67278, WO 99/67279, DE 198 34 591, WO 97/40832, DE 196 16 486 C 2, WO 98/19998, WO 00/07617, WO 99/38501, WO 99/46272, WO 99/38501, WO 01/68603, WO 01/40180, WO 01/81337, WO 01/81304, WO 01/55105, WO 02/02560 and WO 02/14271, WO 02/04610, WO 02/051836, WO 02/068420, WO 02/076450; WO 02/083128, WO 02/38541, WO 03/000180, WO 03/000181, WO 03/000250, WO 03/002530, WO 03/002531, WO 03/002553, WO 03/002593, WO 03/004496, WO 03/024942 and WO 03/024965, the teachings of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety, especially concerning these inhibitors, their definition, uses and their production.

Preferred for the use in combination with effectors of QC are DPIV inhibitors such as NVP DPP728A (1-[[[2-[{5-cyanopyridin-2-yl}amino]ethyl]amino]acetyl]-2-cyano-(S)-pyrrolidine) (Novartis) as disclosed by Hughes et al. 1999 Biochemistry 38 11597-11603, LAF-237 (1-[(3-hydroxy-adamant-1-ylamino)-acetyl]-pyrrolidine-2(S)-carbonitrile); disclosed by Hughes et al., Meeting of the American Diabetes Association 2002, Abstract no. 272 (Novartis), TSL-225 (tryptophyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid), disclosed by Yamada et al. 1998 Bioorg Med Chem Lett 8, 1537-1540, 2-cyanopyrrolidides and 4-cyanopyrrolidides as disclosed by Asworth et al. 1996 Bioorg Med Chem Lett 6, 1163-1166 and 2745-2748, FE-999011, disclosed by Sudre et al. 2002 Diabetes 51, 1461-1469 (Ferring) and the compounds disclosed in WO 01/34594 (Guilford), employing dosages as set out in the above references.

More preferred DP IV inhibitors for the use in combination with effectors of QC are dipeptide compounds in which the amino acid is preferably selected from a natural amino acid, such as, for example, leucine, valine, glutamine, glutamic acid, proline, isoleucine, asparagines and aspartic acid. The dipeptide-like compounds used according to the invention exhibit at a concentration (of dipeptide compounds) of 10 μM, a reduction in the activity of plasma dipeptidyl peptidase IV or DPIV-analogous enzyme activities of at least 10%, especially of at least 40%. Frequently a reduction in activity of at least 60% or at least 70% is also desired in vivo. Preferred compounds may also exhibit a reduction in activity of a maximum of 20% or 30%.

Preferred dipeptide compounds are N-valyl prolyl, O-benzoyl hydroxylamine, alanyl pyrrolidine, isoleucyl thiazolidine like L-allo-isoleucyl thiazolidine, L-threo-isoleucyl pyrrolidine and salts thereof, especially the fumaric salts, and L-allo-isoleucyl pyrrolidine and salts thereof. Especially preferred compounds are glutaminyl pyrrolidine and glutaminyl thiazolidine, H-Asn-pyrrolidine, H-Asn-thiazolidine, H-Asp-pyrrolidine, H-Asp-thiazolidine, H-Asp(NHOH) pyrrolidine, H-Asp(NHOH)-thiazolidine, H-Glu-pyrrolidine, H-Glu-thiazolidine, H-Glu(NHOH)-pyrrolidine, H-Glu(NHOH)-thiazolidine, H-His-pyrrolidine, H-His-thiazolidine, H-Pro-pyrrolidine, H-Pro-thiazolidine, H-Ile-azididine, H-Ile-pyrrolidine, H-L-allo-Ile-thiazolidine, H-Val-pyrrolidine and H-Val-thiazolidine and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof. These compounds are described in WO 99161431 and EP 1 304 327.

Furthermore, the present invention provides for the use of effectors of QC in combination with substrate-like peptide compounds useful for competitive modulation of dipeptidyl peptidase IV catalysis. Preferred peptide compounds are 2-Amino octanoic acid-Pro-Ile, Abu-Pro-Ile, Aib-Pro-Ile, Aze-Pro-Ile, Cha-Pro-Ile, Ile-Hyp-Ile, Ile-Pro-allo-Ile, Ile-Pro-t-butyl-Gly, Ile-Pro-Val, Nle-Pro-Ile, Nva-Pro-Ile, Orn-Pro-Ile, Phe-Pro-Ile, Phg-Pro-Ile, Pip-Pro-Ile, Ser(Bzl)-Pro-Ile, Ser(P)-Pro-Ile, Ser-Pro-Ile, t-butyl-Gly-Pro-D-Val, t-butyl-Gly-Pro-Gly, t-butyl-Gly-Pro-Ile, t-butyl-Gly-Pro-Ile-amide, t-butyl-Gly-Pro-t-butyl-Gly, t-butyl-Gly-Pro-Val, Thr-Pro-Ile, Tic-Pro-Ile, Trp-Pro-Ile, Tyr(P)-Pro-Ile, Tyr-Pro-allo-Ile, Val-Pro-allo-Ile, Val-Pro-t-butyl-Gly, Val-Pro-Val and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein t-butyl-Gly is defined as

and Ser(Bzl) and Ser(P) are defined as benzyl-serine and phosphoryl-serine, respectively. Tyr(P) is defined as phosphoryl-tyrosine. These compounds are disclosed in WO 03/002593.

Further preferred DP IV-inhibitors, which can be used according to the present invention in combination with effectors of QC, are peptidylketones, e.g.

-   2-Methylcarbonyl-1-N-[(L)-Alanyl-(L)-Valinyl]-(2S)-pyrrolidine     hydrobromide,     2-Methyl)carbonyl-1-N-[(L)-Valinyl-(L)-Prolyl-(L)-Valinyl]-(2S)-pyrrolidine     hydrobromide, -   2-[(Acetyl-oxy-methyl)carbonyl]-1-N-[(L)-Alanyl-(L)-Valinyl]-(2S)-pyrrolidine     hydrobromide, -   2-[Benzoyl-oxy-methyl)carbonyl]-1-N-[{(L)-Alanyl}-(L)-Valinyl]-(2S)-pyrrolidine     hydrobromide, -   2-{[(2,6-Dichlorbenzyl)thiomethyl]carbonyl}-1-N-[{(L)-Alanyl}-(L)-Valinyl]-(2S)-pyrrolidine, -   2-[Benzoy-loxy-methyl)carbonyl]-1-N-[Glycyl-(L)-Valinyl]-(2S)-pyrrolidine     hydrobromide, -   2-[([1,3]-Thiazolethiazol-2-yl)carbonyl]-1-N-[{(L)-Alanyl}-(L)-Valinyl]-(2S)-pyrrolidine     trifluoracetate, -   2-[(Benzothiazolethiazol-2-yl)carbonyl]-1-N—[N-{(L)-Alanyl}-(L)-Valinyl]-(2S)-pyrrolidin     trifluoracetate, -   2-[(-Benzothiazolethiazol-2-yl)carbonyl]-1-N-[{(L)-Alanyl}-Glycyl]-(2S)-pyrrolidine     trifluoracetate, -   2-[(Pyridin-2-yl)carbonyl]-1-N—[N-{(L)-Alanyl}-(L)-Valinyl]-(2S)-pyrrolidine     trifluoracetate     and other pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof. These compounds     are disclosed in WO 03/033524.

Further, according to the present invention substituted aminoketones can be used in combination with effectors of QC. Preferred substituted aminoketones are

-   1-cyclopentyl-3-methyl-1-oxo-2-pentanaminium chloride, -   1-cyclopent-3-methyl-1-oxo-2-butanaminium chloride, -   1-cyclopentyl-3,3-dimethyl-1-oxo-2-butanaminium chloride, -   1-cyclohexyl-3,3-dimethyl-1-oxo-2-butanaminium chloride, -   3-(cyclopentylcarbonyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolinium chloride, -   N-(2-cyclopentyl-2-oxoethyl)cyclohexanaminium chloride     and other pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof.

Among the rare group of proline-specific proteases, DP IV was originally believed to be the only membrane-bound enzyme specific for proline as the penultimate residue at the amino-terminus of the polypeptide chain. However, other molecules, even those structurally non-homologous with the DP IV but bearing corresponding enzyme activity, have been identified. DP IV-like enzymes, which have been identified so far, include e.g. fibroblast activation protein α, dipeptidyl peptidase IV β, dipeptidyl aminopeptidase-like protein, N-acetylated α-linked acidic dipeptidase, quiescent cell proline dipeptidase, dipeptidyl peptidase II, attractin and dipeptidyl peptidase IV related protein (DPP 8), DPL1 (DPX, DP6), DPL2 and DPP 9 described in review articles by Sedo & Malik (Sedo and Malik 2001, Biochim Biophys Acta, 36506, 1-10) and Abbott and Gorrell (Abbott, C. A. and Gorrell, M. D. 2002 In: Langner & Ansorge (ed.), Ectopeptidases. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, 171-195). Recently, the cloning and characterization of dipeptidyl peptidase 10 (DPP 10) was reported (Qi, S. Y. et al., Biochemical Journal Immediate Publication. Published on 28 Mar. 2003 as manuscript BJ20021914).

Effectors, as that term is used herein, are defined as molecules that bind to enzymes and increase or decrease their activity in vitro and/or in vivo. Some enzymes have binding sites for small molecules that affect their catalytic activity; a stimulator molecule is called an activator. Enzymes may even have multiple sites for recognizing more than one activator or inhibitor. Enzymes can detect concentrations of a variety of molecules and use that information to vary their own activities.

Effectors can modulate enzymatic activity because enzymes can assume both active and inactive conformations: activators are positive effectors, inhibitors are negative effectors. Effectors act only at the active sites of enzymes, but also at regulatory sites, or allosteric sites, terms used to emphasize that the regulatory site is an element of the enzyme distinct from the catalytic site and to differentiate this form of regulation from competition between substrates and inhibitors at the catalytic site (Darnell, J., Lodish, H. and Baltimore, D. 1990, Molecular Cell Biology 2^(nd) Edition, Scientific American Books, New York, page 63).

In the peptides of the present invention, each amino acid residue is represented by a one-letter or a three-letter designation, corresponding to the trivial name of the amino acid, in accordance with the following conventional list:

One-Letter Three-Letter Amino Acid Symbol Symbol Alanine A Ala Arginine R Arg Asparagine N Asn Aspartic acid D Asp Cysteine C Cys Glutamine Q Gln Glutamic acid E Glu Glycine G Gly Histidine H His Isoleucine I Ile Leucine L Leu Lysine K Lys Methionine M Met Phenylalanine F Phe Proline P Pro Serine S Ser Threonine T Thr Tryptophan W Trp Tyrosine Y Tyr Valine V Val

The term “QC” as used herein comprises glutaminyl cyclase (QC) and QC-like enzymes. QC and QC-like enzymes have identical or similar enzymatic activity, further defined as QC activity. In this regard, QC-like enzymes can fundamentally differ in their molecular structure from QC.

The term “QC activity” as used herein is defined as intramolecular cyclization of N-terminal glutamine residues into pyroglutamic acid (pGlu*) or of N-terminal L-homoglutamine or L-β homoglutamine to a cyclic pyro-homoglutamine derivative under liberation of ammonia. See therefore schemes 1 and 2.

The term “EC” as used herein comprises the side activity of QC and QC-like enzymes as cyclase (EC), further defined as EC activity.

The term “EC activity” as used herein is defined as intramolecular cyclization of N-terminal glutamate residues into pyroglutamic acid (pGlu*) by QC. See therefore scheme 3.

The term “metal-dependent enzyme” as used herein is defined as enzyme(s) that require a bound metal ion in order to fulfill their catalytic function and/or require a bound metal ion in order to form the catalytically active structure.

Molecules that bind to enzymes and increase or decrease their activities are called “effectors”. Effectors can modify enzymatic activity because enzymes can assume both active and inactive conformations: activators are positive effectors; inhibitors are negative effectors. Effectors bind at regulatory sites, or allosteric sites (from the Greek for “another shape”), a term used to emphasize that the regulatory site is an element of the enzyme distinct from the catalytic site and to differentiate this form of regulation from competition between substrates and inhibitors at the catalytic site.

According to the individual embodiments of the present invention, either activators or inhibitors are preferred.

Another aspect of the present invention is the identification of new physiological substrates of QC. These were identified by performing cyclization experiments with mammalian peptides as described in example 5. Prior, human QC and papaya QC were isolated as described in example 1. The applied methods are described in example 2, and the peptide synthesis employed is outlined in example 6. The results of the study are shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1 New physiological substrates of glutaminyl cyclase Human QC Papaya QC k_(cat) k_(cat)/KM k_(cat) k_(cat)/K_(M) Substrate K_(M) (μM) (s⁻¹) (mM⁻¹s⁻¹) K_(M) (μM) (s−1) (mM⁻¹s⁻¹) [Gln¹]-Gastrin 31 ± 1 54.1 ± 0.6 1745.2 ± 36.9  34 ± 2 25.8 ± 0.5 759 ± 30 [Gin¹]- 31 ± 1 48.8 ± 0.4 1318.9 ± 24.8  40 ± 3 35.7 ± 0.9 893 ± 44 Neurotensin [Gln¹]-FPP 87 ± 2 69.6 ± 0.3  800.0 ± 14.9 232 ± 9 32.5 ± 0.4 140 ± 4  [Gin¹]-TRH 90 ± 4 82.8 ± 1.2  920.0 ± 27.6 n.d. n.d. n.d. [Gln¹]-GnRH 53 ± 3 69.2 ± 1.1 1305.7 ± 53.2 169 ± 9 82.5 ± 1.9 488.2 ± 14.8 [GIn³]- * * glucagon(3-29) [Gln⁵]-substance * * P(5-11) (*, determined qualitatively by MALDI-TOF experiments)

All analyses were performed in the optimal range of activity and stability of either human or plant QC, as demonstrated in example 4.

The amino acid sequences of physiological active peptides having an N-terminal glutamine residue and being therefore substrates for the QC enzyme are listed in Table 2:

TABLE 2 Amino acid sequences of physiological active peptides with an N-terminal glutamine residue Peptide Amino acid sequence Function Gastrin 17 QGPWL EEEEEAYGWM DF Gastrin stimulates Swiss-Prot: (amide) the stomach mucosa P01350 (SEQ ID NO: 3) to produce and se- crete hydrochloric acid and the pan- creas to secrete its digestive en- zymes. It also stimulates smooth muscle contraction and increases blood circulation and water secre- tion in the stomach and in- testine. Neurotensin QLYENKPRRP YIL Neurotensin plays Swiss-Prot: (SEQ ID NO: 4) an endocrine or P30990 paracrine role in the regulation of fat metabolism. It causes contraction of smooth muscle. FPP QEP amide A tripeptide re- lated to thyrotro- phin releasing hormone (TRH), is found in seminal plasma. Recent evidence obtained in vitro and in vivo showed that FPP plays an im- portant role in regulating sperm fertility. TRH QHP amide TRH functions as a Swiss-Prot: regulator of the P20396 biosynthesis of TSH in the anter- ior pituitary gland and as a neurotransmitter/ neuromodulator in the central and peripheral nervous systems. GnRH QHWSYGL RP(G) amide Stimulates the Swiss-Prot: (SEQ ID NO: 5) secretion of gona- P01148 dotropins; it stimulates the se- cretion of both luteinizing and follicle-stimulat- ing hormones. CCL16 QPKVPEW VNTPSTCCLK Shows chemotactic (small YYEKVLPRRL VVGYRKALNC activity for lym- inducible HLPAIIFVTK RNREVCTNPN phocytes and mono- cytokine DDWVQEYIKD PNLPLLPTRN cytes but not neu- A16) LSTVKIITAK NGQPQLLNSQ trophils. Also Swiss-Prot: (SEQ ID NO: 6) shows potent 015467 myelosuppressive activity, sup- presses prolifer- ation of myeloid progenitor cells. Recombinant SCYA16 shows chemotactic activity for mono- cytes and THP-1 monocytes, but not for resting lymph- ocytes and neutro- phils. Induces a calcium flux in THP-1 cells that were desensitized by prior expres- sion to RANTES. CCL8 (small QPDSVSI PITCCFNVIN Chemotactic factor inducible RKIPIQRIES YTRITNIQCP that attracts mon- cytokine KEAVIFKTKR GKEVCADPKE ocytes, lympho- A8) RWVRDSMKHL DQIFQNLKP cytes, basophils Swiss-Prot: (SEQ ID NO: 7) and eosinophils. P80075 May play a role in neoplasia and in- flammatory host responses. This protein can bind heparin. CCL2 (small QPDAINA PVTCCYNFTN Chemotactic factor inducible RKISVQRLAS YRRITSSKCP that attracts mon- cytokine KEAVIFKTIV AKEICADPKQ ocytes and baso- A2) KWVQDSMDHL DKQTQTPKT phils but not neu- Swiss-Prot: (SEQ ID NO: 8) trophils or eosi- P13500 nophils. Augments monocyte anti- tumor activity. Has been impli- cated in the path- ogenesis of di- seases character- ized by monocytic infiltrates, like psoriasis, rheuma- toid arthritis or atherosclerosis. May be involved in the recruitment of monocytes into the arterial wall during the disease process of athero- sclerosis. Binds to CCR2 and CCR4. CCL18 QVGTNKELC CLVYTSWQIP Chemotactic factor (small QKFIVDYSET SPQCPKPGVI that attracts lym- inducible LLTKRGRQIC ADPNKKWVQK phocytes but not cytokine YISDLKLNA monocytes or gran- A18) (SEQ ID NO: 9) ulocytes. May be Swiss-Prot: involved in B cell P55774 migration into B cell follicles in lymph nodes. At- tracts naive T lymphocytes toward dendritic cells and activated macrophages in lymph nodes, has chemotactic activ- ity for naive T cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and thus may play a role in both hu- moral and cell- mediated immunity responses. Fractalkine QHHGVT KCNITCSKMT The soluble form (neurotac- SKIPVALLIH YQQNQASCGK is chemotactic for tin) RAIILETRQH RLFCADPKEQ T cells and mono- Swiss-Prot: WVKDAMQHLD RQAAALTRNG cytes, but not for P78423 GTFEKQIGEV KPRTTPAAGG neutrophils. The MDESVVLEPE ATGESSSLEP membrane-bound TPSSQEAQRA LGTSPELPTG form promotes ad- VTGSSGTRLP PTPKAQDGGP hesion of those VGTELFRVPP VSTAATWQSS leukocytes to APHQPGPSLW AEAKTSEAPS endothelial cells. TQDPSTQAST ASSPAPEENA May play a role in PSEGQRVWGQ GQSPRPENSL regulating leuko- EREEMGPVPA HTDAFQDWGP cyte adhesion and GSMAHVSVVP VSSEGTPSRE migration pro- PVASGSWTPK AEEPIHATMD cesses at the en- PQRLGVLITP VPDAQAATRR dothelium. Binds QAVGLLAFLG LLFCLGVAMF to cx3crl. TYQSLQGCPR KMAGEMAEGL RYIPRSCGSN SYVLVPV (SEQ ID NO: 10) CCL7 (small QPVGINT STTCCYRFIN Chemotactic factor inducible KKIPKQRLES YRRTTSSHCP that attracts cytokine REAVIFKTKL DKEICADPTQ monocytes and A7) KWVQDFMKHL DKKTQTPKL eosinophils, but Swiss-Prot: (SEQ ID NO: 11) not neutrophils. P80098 Augments monocyte anti-tumor activi- ty. Also induces the release of gelatinase B. This protein can bind heparin. Binds to CCR1, CCR2 and CCR3. Orexin A QPLPDCCRQK TCSCRLYELL Neuropeptide that (Hypocre- HGAGNHAAGI LTL plays a signifi- tin-1) (SEQ ID NO: 12) cant role in the Swiss-Prot regulation of food 043612 intake and sleep wakefulness, poss- ibly by coordinat- ing the complex behavioral and physiologic re- sponses of these complementary homeostatic func- tions. It plays also a broader role in the home- ostatic regulation of energy metabol- ism, autonomic function, hormonal balance and the regulation of body fluids. Orexin-A binds to both OX1R and OX2R with a high 7affinity. Substance P RPK PQQFFGLM Belongs to the (SEQ ID NO: 13) tachykinins. Tachykinins are active peptides which excite neu- rons, evoke beha- vioral responses, are potent vasodi- lators and secre- tagogues, and contract (directly or indirectly) many smooth muscles.

In a fourth embodiment, the peptides [Gln¹]Gastrin (17 and 34 amino acids in length), [Gln¹]Neurotensin and [Gln¹]FPP were identified as new physiological substrates of QC. Gastrin, Neurotensin and FPP comprise a pGlu residue in their N-terminal position. This N terminal pGlu residue was shown to be formed from N-terminal glutamine by QC catalysis for all peptides. As a result, these peptides are activated in terms of their biological function upon conversion of the N-terminal glutamine residue to pGlu.

Transepithelial transducing cells, particularly the gastrin (G) cell, co-ordinate gastric acid secretion with the arrival of food in the stomach. Recent work showed that multiple active products are generated from the gastrin precursor, and that there are multiple control points in gastrin biosynthesis. Biosynthetic precursors and intermediates (progastrin and Gly-gastrins) are putative growth factors; their products, the amidated gastrins, regulate epithelial cell proliferation, the differentiation of acid-producing parietal cells and histamine-secreting enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells, and the expression of genes associated with histamine synthesis and storage in ECL cells, as well as acutely stimulating acid secretion. Gastrin also stimulates the production of members of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) family, which in turn inhibit parietal cell function but stimulate the growth of surface epithelial cells. Plasma gastrin concentrations are elevated in subjects with Helicobacter pylori, who are known to have increased risk of duodenal ulcer disease and gastric cancer (Dockray, G. J. 1999 J Physiol 15 315-324).

The peptide hormone gastrin, released from antral G cells, is known to stimulate the synthesis and release of histamine from ECL cells in the oxyntic mucosa via CCK-2 receptors. The mobilized histamine induces acid secretion by binding to the H(2) receptors located on parietal cells. Recent studies suggest that gastrin, in both its fully amidated and less processed forms (progastrin and glycine-extended gastrin), is also a growth factor for the gastrointestinal tract. It has been established that the major trophic effect of amidated gastrin is for the oxyntic mucosa of stomach, where it causes increased proliferation of gastric stem cells and ECL cells, resulting in increased parietal and ECL cell mass. On the other hand, the major trophic target of the less processed gastrin (e.g. glycine-extended gastrin) appears to be the colonic mucosa (Koh, T. J. and Chen, D. 2000 Regul Pept 9337-44).

In a fifth embodiment, the present invention provides the use of activity increasing effectors of QC for the stimulation of gastrointestinal tract cell proliferation, especially gastric mucosal cell proliferation, epithelial cell proliferation, the differentiation of acid-producing parietal cells and histamine-secreting enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells, and the expression of genes associated with histamine synthesis and storage in ECL cells, as well as for the stimulation of acute acid secretion in mammals by maintaining or increasing the concentration of active [pGlu¹]-Gastrin.

In a sixth embodiment, the present invention provides the use of activity decreasing effectors of QC for the treatment of duodenal ulcer disease and gastric cancer with or w/o Heliobacter pylori in mammals by decreasing the conversion rate of inactive [Gln¹]Gastrin to active [pGlu¹]Gastrin. Neurotensin (NT) is a neuropeptide implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia that specifically modulates neurotransmitter systems previously demonstrated to be misregulated in this disorder. Clinical studies in which cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) NT concentrations have been measured revealed a subset of schizophrenic patients with decreased CSF NT concentrations that are restored by effective antipsychotic drug treatment. Considerable evidence also exists concordant with the involvement of NT systems in the mechanism of action of antipsychotic drugs. The behavioral and biochemical effects of centrally administered NT remarkably resemble those of systemically administered antipsychotic drugs, and antipsychotic drugs increase NT neurotransmission. This concatenation of findings led to the hypothesis that NT functions as an endogenous antipsychotic. Moreover, typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs differentially alter NT neurotransmission in nigrostriatal and mesolimbic dopamine terminal regions, and these effects are predictive of side effect liability and efficacy, respectively (Binder, E. B. et al. 2001 Biol Psychiatry 50 856-872).

In a seventh embodiment, the present invention provides the use of activity increasing effectors of QC for the preparation of antipsychotic drugs and/or for the treatment of schizophrenia in mammals. The effectors of QC either maintain or increase the concentration of active [pGlu¹]neurotensin.

Fertilization promoting peptide (FPP), a tripeptide related to thyrotrophin releasing hormone (TRH), is found in seminal plasma. Recent evidence obtained in vitro and in vivo showed that FPP plays an important role in regulating sperm fertility. Specifically, FPP initially stimulates nonfertilizing (uncapacitated) spermatozoa to “switch on” and become fertile more quickly, but then arrests capacitation so that spermatozoa do not undergo spontaneous acrosome loss and therefore do not lose fertilizing potential. These responses are mimicked, and indeed augmented, by adenosine, known to regulate the adenylyl cyclase (AC)/cAMP signal transduction pathway. Both FPP and adenosine have been shown to stimulate cAMP production in uncapacitated cells but inhibit it in capacitated cells, with FPP receptors somehow interacting with adenosine receptors and G proteins to achieve regulation of AC. These events affect the tyrosine phosphorylation state of various proteins, some being important in the initial “switching on,” others possibly being involved in the acrosome reaction itself. Calcitonin and angiotensin H, also found in seminal plasma, have similar effects in vitro on uncapacitated spermatozoa and can augment responses to FPP. These molecules have similar effects in vivo, affecting fertility by stimulating and then maintaining fertilizing potential. Either reductions in the availability of FPP, adenosine, calcitonin, and angiotensin II or defects in their receptors contribute to male infertility (Fraser, L. R. and Adeoya-Osiguwa, S. A. 2001 Vitam Horm 63, 1-28).

In an eight embodiment, the present invention provides the use of activity lowering effectors of QC for the preparation of fertilization prohibitive drugs and/or to reduce the fertility in mammals. The activity lowering effectors of QC decrease the concentration of active [pGlu¹]FPP, leading to a prevention of sperm capacitation and deactivation of sperm cells. In contrast it could be shown that activity increasing effectors of QC are able to stimulate fertility in males and to treat infertility.

In a ninth embodiment, further physiological substrates of QC were identified within the present invention. These are [Gln¹]CCL2, [Gln¹]CCL7, [Gln¹]CCL8, [Gln¹]CCL16, [Gln¹]CCL18 and [Gln¹]fractalkine. For details see Table 2. These polypeptides play an important role in pathophysiological conditions, such as suppression of proliferation of myeloid progenitor cells, neoplasia, inflammatory host responses, cancer, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, humoral and cell-mediated immunity responses, leukocyte adhesion and migration processes at the endothelium.

Several cytotoxic T lymphocyte peptide-based vaccines against hepatitis B, human immunodeficiency virus and melanoma were recently studied in clinical trials. One interesting melanoma vaccine candidate alone or in combination with other tumor antigens, is the decapeptide ELA. This peptide is a Melan-A/MART-1 antigen immunodominant peptide analog, with an N-terminal glutamic acid. It has been reported that the amino group and gamma-carboxylic group of glutamic acids, as well as the amino group and gamma-carboxamide group of glutamines, condense easily to form pyroglutamic derivatives. To overcome this stability problem, several peptides of pharmaceutical interest have been developed with a pyroglutamic acid instead of N-terminal glutamine or glutamic acid, without loss of pharmacological properties. Unfortunately compared with ELA, the pyroglutamic acid derivative (PyrELA) and also the N-terminal acetyl-capped derivative (AcELA) failed to elicit cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity. Despite the apparent minor modifications introduced in PyrELA and AcELA, these two derivatives probably have lower affinity than ELA for the specific class I major histocompatibility complex. Consequently, in order to conserve full activity of ELA, the formation of PyrELA must be avoided (Beck A. et al. 2001, J Pept Res 57(6):528-38.). Recently, it was found that also the enzyme glutaminyl cyclase (QC) is overexpressed in melanomas (Ross D. T et al., 2000, Nat Genet. 24:227-35.).

In a tenth embodiment, the present invention provides the use of effectors of QC for the preparation of a medicament for the treatment of pathophysiological conditions, such as suppression of proliferation of myeloid progenitor cells, neoplasia, inflammatory host responses, cancer, malign metastasis, melanoma, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, impaired humoral and cell-mediated immunity responses, leukocyte adhesion and migration processes at the endothelium.

In an eleventh embodiment, [Gln¹]orexin A was identified as a physiological substrate of QC within the present invention. Orexin A is a neuropeptide that plays a significant role in the regulation of food intake and sleep-wakefulness, possibly by coordinating the complex behavioral and physiologic responses of these complementary homeostatic functions. It plays also a role in the homeostatic regulation of energy metabolism, autonomic function, hormonal balance and the regulation of body fluids.

In a twelfth embodiment, the present invention provides the use of effectors of QC for the preparation of a medicament for the treatment of impaired food intake and sleep-wakefulness, impaired homeostatic regulation of energy metabolism, impaired autonomic function, impaired hormonal balance and impaired regulation of body fluids.

Polyglutamine expansions in several proteins lead to neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson disease and Kennedy's disease. The mechanism therefore remains largely unknown. The biochemical properties of polyglutamine repeats suggest one possible explanation: endolytic cleavage at a glutaminyl-glutaminyl bond followed by pyroglutamate formation may contribute to the pathogenesis through augmenting the catabolic stability, hydrophobicity, amyloidogenicity, and neurotoxicity of the polyglutaminyl proteins (Saido, T; Med Hypotheses (2000) March; 54(3):427-9). In a thirteenth embodiment, the present invention provides therefore the use of effectors of QC for the preparation of a medicament for the treatment of Parkinson disease and Huntington's disease.

In a fourteenth embodiment, the present invention provides a general way to reduce or inhibit the enzymatic activity of QC. Examples of inhibitory compounds are also provided.

Inhibition of a mammalian QC was only detected initially for 1,10-phenanthroline and reduced 6-methylpterin (Busby, W. H. J. et al. 1987 J Biol Chem 262, 8532-8536). EDTA did not inhibit QC, thus it was concluded that QC is not a metal-dependent enzyme (Busby, W. H. J. et al. 1987 J Biol Chem 262, 8532-8536, Bateman, R. C. J. et al. 2001 Biochemistry 40, 11246-11250, Booth, R. E. et al. 2004 BMC Biology 2). In the present invention, however, it is shown that human QC and other animal QCs are metal-dependent enzymes, as revealed by the inhibition characteristics of QC by 1,10-phenanthroline, dipicolinic acid, 8-hydroxy-quinoline and other chelators (FIGS. 18,19) and by the reactivation of QC by transition metal ions (FIG. 20). Finally, the metal dependence is outlined by a sequence comparison to other metal-dependent enzymes, showing a conservation of the chelating amino acid residues also in human QC (FIG. 21). The interaction of compounds with the active-site bound metal ion represents a general way to reduce or inhibit QC activity.

In the present invention it is shown that imidazole derivatives are potent inhibitors of QC. Using the continuous assay (for details see example 2), many imidazole derivatives were analyzed concerning their ability to inhibit the human QC as a member of the highly conserved mammalian QCs.

Thus, the present invention provides imidazole derivatives and histidine and its derivatives as activity reducing effectors of QC and their characteristics in terms of inhibition type and potency. Structures and Ki-values are shown in tables 3 and 4. The results are described in detail in example 7.

TABLE 3 Inhibitory constants of imidazole derivatives in the human QC catalyzed reaction. Determinations were performed at 30° C. in 0.05 M Tris-HCl pH 8.0, containing 5 mM EDTA. Compound Ki-value (mM) Structure core structures imidazole 0.103 ± 0.004 benzimidazole 0.138 ± 0.005 N-1 derivatives 1-benzylimidazole 0.0071 ± 0.0003 1-methylimidazole 0.030 ± 0.001 1-vinylimidazole 0.049 ± 0.002 oxalic acid diimidazolidide 0.078 ± 0.002 N-acetylimidazole 0.107 ± 0.003 N-(trimethylsilyl)-imidazole 0.167 ± 0.007 N-benzoylimidazole 0.174 ± 0.007 1-(2-oxo-2-phenyl-ethyl)- 0.184 ± 0.005 imidazole 1-(3-aminopropyl)-imidazole 0.41 ± 0.01 1-phenylimidazole no inhibition 1,1′-sulfonyldiimidazole no inhibition C-4(5) derivatives N-omega-acetylhistamine 0.017 ± 0.001 L-histidinamide 0.56 ± 0.04 H-His-Trp-OH 0.60 ± 0.03 L-histidinol 1.53 ± 0.12 L-histidine 4.4 ± 0.2 4-imidazole-carboxaldehyde 7.6 ± 0.7 imidazole-4-carbonic acid 14.5 ± 0.6  methylester L-histamine 0.85 ± 0.04 C-4,5 derivatives 5 -hydroxymethyl-4-methyl- 0.129 ± 0.005 imidazole 4-amino-imidazole-5-carbonic 15.5 ± 0.5  acid amide 4,5-diphenyl-imidazole no inhibition 4,5-dicyanoimidazole no inhibition C-2 derivatives 2-methyl-benzylimidazole 0.165 ± 0.004 2-ethyl-4-methyl-imidazole 0.58 ± 0.04 2-aminobenzimidazole 1.8 ± 0.1 2-chloro-1H-benzimidazole no inhibition Others 3-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)-1-(3- methylbenzo[b]thiophene-2- yl)propan-1-one 0.0025 ± 0.0001

4-[(1-methyl-1H-imidazol-5- yl)methyl]-3 propyldihydrofuran-2-(3H)- one 0.0067 ± 0.0003

4-[2-(1H-imidazol-1-yl) ethoxy]benzoic acid 0.0034 ± 0.0001

3-[3-(1H-imidazol-1- yl)propyl]2- thioxoimidazolidin-4-one 0.00041 ± 0.00001

5-nitro-2-[2-([{3-(1H- imidazol 1-yl-)propyl}amino] carbonyl)phenyl]furamide 0.0066 ± 0.0004

N-(4-chlorophenyl)-N′-[2-(1H imidazol-1- yl)ethyl]thiourea 0.00165 ± 0.00007

2-[(5-imidazol-1- ylmethylpyrrolidine-2- carbonyl)-amino]-propionic acid methyl ester 0.0322 ± 0.0007

2-[(5-Imidazol-1-ylmethyl- 2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrole-2- carbonyl)amino]-propionic acid methylester n.d.

Imidazo<1.5a>pyridine 0.0356 ± 0.0005

Methyl (2S)-2-{[(2S)-2- amino-5- 0.164 ± 0.004 (1H- imidazol-1-ylamino)-5 oxopentanoyl]amino}-3 methylbutanoate 0.164 ± 0.004

TABLE 4 QC inhibition by L-histamine and its two biological metabolites (also known as tele-methylhistamine). Compound K_(i) Value (mM) Structure L-histamine 0.85 ± 0.04

3-methyl-4- W(β-aminoethyl)- imidazole 0.120 ± 0.004

1-methyl-4- (β-aminoethyl)- imidazole n.i.

Surprisingly, during characterization of the enzymatic activity it was discovered that besides an N-terminal glutaminyl residue, N-terminal [β-homo-glutaminyl residues also fulfill properties as substrates of QCs from plants and mammals. The N-terminal β-homo-glutaminyl residue was converted into a five-membered lactam ring by catalysis of human and papaya QC, respectively. The results are described in example 5. The applied method is illustrated in example 2 and the peptide synthesis was performed as described in example 6.

Another preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises screening methods for effectors of QC.

A preferred screening method for identifying activity modifying effectors of QC from a group of compounds comprises the steps of:

-   -   a) Contacting said compounds with QC under conditions which         would permit binding therebetween;     -   b) Adding a substrate of QC;     -   c) Monitoring the conversion of the substrate or optionally         measuring the residual QC activity; and     -   d) Calculating changes in the substrate conversion and/or enzyme         activity of QC to identify an activity modifying effector.

Another preferred screening method relates to a method for the identification and selection of effectors which interact directly or indirectly with the active-site bound metal ion of QC and comprises the following steps:

-   -   a) Contacting said compounds with QC under conditions which         would permit binding therebetween;     -   b) Adding a substrate of QC which is subject to conversion by         QC;     -   c) Monitoring the conversion of the substrate or optionally         measuring the residual QC activity; and     -   d) Calculating changes in the substrate conversion and/or enzyme         activity of QC wherein changes may be used to identify an         activity modifying effector of QC.

Preferred for the use in the above described screening methods are mammalian QC or Papaya QC. Especially preferred is mammalian QC, since the effectors identified by these screening methods shall be used for the treatment of diseases in mammals, especially in humans.

The agents selected by the above described screening methods can work by decreasing the conversion of at least one substrate of QC (negative effectors, inhibitors), or by increasing the conversion of at least one substrate of QC (positive effectors, activators).

The compounds of the present invention can be converted into acid addition salts, especially pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts.

The salts of the compounds of the invention may be in the form of inorganic or organic salts.

The compounds of the present invention can be converted into and used as acid addition salts, especially pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts. The pharmaceutically acceptable salt generally takes a form in which a basic side chain is protonated with an inorganic or organic acid. Representative organic or inorganic acids include hydrochloric, hydrobromic, perchloric, sulfuric, nitric, phosphoric, acetic, propionic, glycolic, lactic, succinic, maleic, fumaric, malic, tartaric, citric, benzoic, mandelic, methanesulfonic, hydroxyethanesulfonic, benzenesulfonic, oxalic, pamoic, 2-naphthalenesulfonic, p-toulenesulfonic, cyclohexanesulfamic, salicylic, saccharinic or trifluoroacetic acid. All pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salt forms of the compounds of the present invention are intended to be embraced by the scope of this invention.

In view of the close relationship between the free compounds and the compounds in the form of their salts, whenever a compound is referred to in this context, a corresponding salt is also intended, provided such is possible or appropriate under the circumstances.

Where the compounds according to this invention have at least one chiral center, they may accordingly exist as enantiomers. Where the compounds possess two or more chiral centers, they may additionally exist as diastereomers. It is to be understood that all such isomers and mixtures thereof are encompassed within the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, some of the crystalline forms of the compounds may exist as polymorphs and as such are intended to be included in the present invention. In addition, some of the compounds may form solvates with water (i.e. hydrates) or common organic solvents, and such solvates are also intended to be encompassed within the scope of this invention.

The compounds, including their salts, can also be obtained in the form of their hydrates, or include other solvents used for their crystallization.

In a further embodiment, the present invention provides a method of preventing or treating a condition mediated by modulation of the QC enzyme activity in a subject in need thereof which comprises administering any of the compounds of the present invention or pharmaceutical compositions thereof in a quantity and dosing regimen therapeutically effective to treat the condition. Additionally, the present invention includes the use of the compounds of this invention, and their corresponding pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salt forms, for the preparation of a medicament for the prevention or treatment of a condition mediated by modulation of the QC activity in a subject. The compound may be administered to a patient by any conventional route of administration, including, but not limited to, intravenous, oral, subcutaneous, intramuscular, intradermal, parenteral and combinations thereof.

In a further preferred form of implementation, the invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions, that is to say, medicaments, that contain at least one compound of the invention or salts thereof, optionally in combination with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers and/or solvents.

The pharmaceutical compositions may, for example, be in the form of parenteral or enteral formulations and contain appropriate carriers, or they may be in the form of oral formulations that may contain appropriate carriers suitable for oral administration. Preferably, they are in the form of oral formulations.

The effectors of QC activity administered according to the invention may be employed in pharmaceutically administrable formulations or formulation complexes as inhibitors or in combination with inhibitors, substrates, pseudosubstrates, inhibitors of QC expression, binding proteins or antibodies of those enzyme proteins that reduce the QC protein concentration in mammals. The compounds of the invention make it possible to adjust treatment individually to patients and diseases, it being possible, in particular, to avoid individual intolerances, allergies and side-effects.

The compounds also exhibit differing degrees of activity as a function of time. The doctor providing treatment is thereby given the opportunity to respond differently to the individual situation of patients: he is able to adjust precisely, on the one hand, the speed of the onset of action and, on the other hand, the duration of action and especially the intensity of action.

A preferred treatment method according to the invention represents a new approach for the prevention or treatment of a condition mediated by modulation of the QC enzyme activity in mammals. It is advantageously simple, susceptible of commercial application and suitable for use, especially in the treatment of diseases that are based on unbalanced concentration of physiological active QC substrates, e.g. listed in Tables 1 and 2, in mammals and especially in human medicine.

The compounds may be advantageously administered, for example, in the form of pharmaceutical preparations that contain the active ingredient in combination with customary additives like diluents, excipients and/or carriers known from the prior art. For example, they can be administered parenterally (for example i.v. in physiological saline solution) or enterally (for example orally, formulated with customary carriers).

Depending upon their endogenous stability and their bioavailability, one or more doses of the compounds can be given per day in order to achieve the desired normalisation of the blood glucose values. For example, such a dosage range in humans may be in the range of from about 0.01 mg to 250.0 mg per day, preferably in the range of from about 0.01 to 100 mg of compound per kilogram of body weight.

By administering effectors of QC activity to a mammal it could be possible to prevent or alleviate or treat conditions selected from Alzheimer's disease, Down Syndrome, ulcer disease and gastric cancer with or w/o Heliobacter pylori infections, pathogenic psychotic conditions, schizophrenia, infertility, neoplasia, inflammatory host responses, cancer, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, impaired humoral and cell-mediated immune responses, leukocyte adhesion and migration processes in the endothelium, impaired food intake, sleep-wakefulness, impaired homeostatic regulation of energy metabolism, impaired autonomic function, impaired hormonal balance and impaired regulation of body fluids.

Further, by administering effectors of QC activity to a mammal it could be possible to stimulate gastrointestinal tract cell proliferation, preferably proliferation of gastric mucosal cells, epithelial cells, acute acid secretion and the differentiation of acid producing parietal cells and histamine-secreting enterochromaffin-like cells.

In addition, administration of QC inhibitors to mammals may lead to a loss of sperm cell function thus suppressing male fertility. Thus, the present invention provides a method for the regulation and control of male fertility and the use of activity lowering effectors of QC for the preparation of contraceptive medicaments for males.

Furthermore, by administering effectors of QC activity to a mammal it may be possible to suppress the proliferation of myeloid progenitor cells.

The compounds used according to the invention can accordingly be converted in a manner known per se into conventional formulations, such as, for example, tablets, capsules, dragées, pills, suppositories, granules, aerosols, syrups, liquid, solid and cream-like emulsions and suspensions and solutions, using inert, non-toxic, pharmaceutically suitable carriers and additives or solvents. In each of those formulations, the therapeutically effective compounds are preferably present in a concentration of approximately from 0.1 to 80% by weight, more preferably from 1 to 50% by weight, of the total mixture, that is to say, in amounts sufficient for the mentioned dosage latitude to be obtained.

The substances can be used as medicaments in the form of dragées, capsules, bitable capsules, tablets, drops, syrups or also as suppositories or as nasal sprays.

The formulations may be advantageously prepared, for example, by extending the active ingredient with solvents and/or carriers, optionally with the use of emulsifiers and/or dispersants, it being possible, for example, in the case where water is used as diluent, for organic solvents to be optionally used as auxiliary solvents.

Examples of excipients useful in connection with the present invention include: water, non-toxic organic solvents, such as paraffins (for example natural oil fractions), vegetable oils (for example rapeseed oil, groundnut oil, sesame oil), alcohols (for example ethyl alcohol, glycerol), glycols (for example propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol); solid carriers, such as, for example, natural powdered minerals (for example highly disperse silica, silicates), sugars (for example raw sugar, lactose and dextrose); emulsifiers, such as non-ionic and anionic emulsifiers (for example polyoxyethylene fatty acid esters, polyoxyethylene fatty alcohol ethers, alkylsulphonates and arylsulphonates), dispersants (for example lignin, sulphite liquors, methylcellulose, starch and polyvinylpyrrolidone) and lubricants (for example magnesium stearate, talcum, stearic acid and sodium lauryl sulphate) and optionally flavourings.

Administration may be carried out in the usual manner, preferably enterally or parenterally, especially orally. In the case of enteral administration, tablets may contain in addition to the mentioned carriers further additives such as sodium citrate, calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate, together with various additives, such as starch, preferably potato starch, gelatin and the like. Furthermore, lubricants, such as magnesium stearate, sodium lauryl sulphate and talcum, can be used concomitantly for tabletting. In the case of aqueous suspensions and/or elixirs intended for oral administration, various taste correctives or colourings can be added to the active ingredients in addition to the above-mentioned excipients.

In the case of parenteral administration, solutions of the active ingredients using suitable liquid carriers can be employed. In general, it has been found advantageous to administer, in the case of intravenous administration, amounts of approximately from 0.01 to 2.0 mg/kg, preferably approximately from 0.01 to 1.0 mg/kg, of body weight per day to obtain effective results and, in the case of enteral administration, the dosage is approximately from 0.01 to 2 mg/kg, preferably approximately from 0.01 to 1 mg/kg, of body weight per day.

It may nevertheless be necessary in some cases to deviate from the stated amounts, depending upon the body weight of the experimental animal or the patient or upon the type of administration route, but also on the basis of the species of animal and its individual response to the medicament or the interval at which administration is carried out. Accordingly, it may be sufficient in some cases to use less than the above-mentioned minimum amount, while, in other cases, the mentioned upper limit will have to be exceeded. In cases where relatively large amounts are being administered, it may be advisable to divide those amounts into several single doses over the day. For administration in human medicine, the same dosage latitude is provided. The above remarks apply analogously in that case.

EXAMPLES OF PHARMACEUTICAL FORMULATIONS

1. Capsules containing 100 mg of a compound of the invention per capsule:

For approximately 10,000 capsules a solution of the following composition is prepared:

compound of the invention 1.0 kg glycerol 0.5 kg polyethylene glycol 3.0 kg water 0.5 kg 5.0 kg

The solution is introduced into soft gelatin capsules in a manner known per se. The capsules are suitable for chewing or swallowing.

2. Tablets or coated tables or dragées containing 100 mg of a compound of the invention:

The following amounts refer to the preparation of 100,000 tablets:

compound of the invention, 10.0 kg finely ground glucose 4.35 kg lactose 4.35 kg starch 4.50 kg cellulose, finely ground 4.50 kg

The above constituents are mixed and then provided with a solution prepared from

polyvinylpyrrolidone 2.0 kg polysorbate 0.1 kg and water approx. 5.0 kg and granulated in a manner known per se by grating the moist mass and, after the addition of 0.2 kg of magnesium stearate, drying it. The finished tablet mixture of 30.0 kg is processed to form convex tablets weighing 300 mg. Ideally, the tablets can be coated or sugar-coated in a manner known per se.

The pharmaceutical compositions defined throughout the specification advantageously contain a combination of at least one effector of QC activity and at least one DP IV inhibitor. Such pharmaceutical compositions are especially useful for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease and Down Syndrome.

Example 1 Preparation of Human and Papaya QC

Host Strains and Media

Pichia pastoris strain X33 (AOX1, AOX2), used for the expression of human QC was grown, transformed and analyzed according to the manufacturer's instructions (Invitrogen). The media required for P. pastoris, i.e. buffered glycerol (BMGY) complex or methanol (BMMY) complex medium, and the fermentation basal salts medium were prepared according to the manufacturer's recommendations.

Molecular Cloning of Plasmid Vectors Encoding the Human QC

All cloning procedures were done applying standard molecular biology techniques. For expression in yeast, the vector pPICZDB (Invitrogen) was used. The pQE-31 vector (Qiagen) was used to express the human QC in E. coli. The cDNA of the mature QC starting with codon 38 was fused in frame with the plasmid encoded 6× histidine tag. After amplification utilizing the primers pQCyc-1 and pQCyc-2 (Table 1) and subcloning, the fragment was inserted into the expression vector employing the restriction sites of SphI and HindIII.

Transformation of P. pastoris and Mini-Scale Expression

Plasmid DNA was amplified in E. coli JM109 and purified according to the recommendations of the manufacturer (Qiagen). In the expression plasmid used, pPICZαB, three restriction sites are provided for linearization. Since SacI and BstXI cut within the QC cDNA, PmeI was chosen for linearization. 20-30 μg plasmid DNA was linearized with Pmel, precipitated by ethanol, and dissolved in sterile, deionized water. 10 μg of the DNA was then applied for transformation of competent P. pastoris cells by electroporation according to the manufacturer's instructions (BioRad). Selection was done on plates containing 150 μg/ml Zeocin. One transformation using the linearized plasmid yielded several hundred transformants.

In order to test the recombinant yeast clones for QC expression, recombinants were grown for 24 h in 10 ml conical tubes containing 2 ml BMGY. Afterwards, the yeast was centrifuged and resuspended in 2 ml BMMY containing 0.5% methanol. This concentration was maintained by addition of methanol every 24 h up to 72 h. Subsequently, QC activity in the supernatant was determined. The presence of the fusion protein was confirmed by western blot analysis using an antibody directed against the 6× histidine tag (Qiagen). Clones that displayed the highest QC activity were chosen for further experiments and fermentation.

Large-Scale Expression in a Fermenter

Expression of the QC was performed in a 5 l reactor (Biostat B, B. Braun biotech), essentially as described in the “Pichia fermentation process guidelines” (Invitrogen). Briefly, the cells were grown in the fermentation basal salts medium supplemented with trace salts, and with glycerol as the sole carbon source (pH 5.5). During an initial batch phase for about 24 h and a subsequent fed-batch phase for about 5 h, cell mass was accumulated. Once a cell wet weight of 200 g/l was achieved, induction of QC expression was performed using methanol applying a three-step feeding profile for an entire fermentation time of approximately 60 h. Subsequently, cells were removed from the QC-containing supernatant by centrifugation at 6000×g, 4° C. for 15 min. The pH was adjusted to 6.8 by addition of NaOH, and the resultant turbid solution was centrifuged again at 37000×g, 4° C. for 40 min. In cases of continued turbidity, an additional filtration step was applied using a cellulose membrane (pore width 0.45 μm).

Purification of 6×Histidine Tagged QC Expressed in P. Pastoris

The His-tagged QC was first purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). In a typical purification, 1000 ml of culture supernatant were applied to a Ni²⁺-loaded Chelating Sepharose FF column (1.6×20 cm, Pharmacia), that was equilibrated with 50 mM phosphate buffer, pH 6.8, containing 750 mM NaCl, at a flow rate of 5 ml/min. After washing with 10 column volumes of equilibration buffer and 5 column volumes of equilibration buffer containing 5 mM histidine, the bound protein was eluted by a shift to 50 mM phosphate buffer, pH 6.8, containing 150 mM NaCl and 100 mM histidine. The resulting eluate was dialyzed against 20 mM Bis-Tris/HCl, pH 6.8, at 4° C. overnight. Subsequently, the QC was further purified by anion exchange chromatography on a Mono Q6 column (BioRad), equilibrated with dialysis buffer. The QC-containing fraction was loaded onto the column using a flow rate of 4 ml/min. The column was then washed with equilibration buffer containing 100 mM NaCl. The elution was performed by two gradients resulting in equilibration buffer containing 240 mM and 360 mM NaCl in 30 or 5 column volumes, respectively. Fractions of 6 ml were collected and the purity was analyzed by SDS-PAGE. Fractions containing homogenous QC were pooled and concentrated by ultrafiltration. For long-term storage (−20° C.), glycerol was added to a final concentration of 50%. Protein was quantified according to the methods of Bradford or Gill and von Hippel (Bradford, M. M. 1976 Anal Biochem 72, 248-254; Gill, S. C. and von Hippel, P. H. 1989 Anal Biochem 182, 319-326.).

Expression and Purification of QC in E. Coli

The construct encoding the QC was transformed into M15 cells (Qiagen) and grown on selective LB agar plates at 37° C. Protein expression was carried out in LB medium containing 1% glucose and 1% ethanol at room temperature. When the culture reached an OD₆₀₀ of approximately 0.8, expression was induced with 0.1 mM IPTG overnight. After one cycle of freezing and thawing, cells were lysed at 4° C. by addition of 2.5 mg/ml lysozyme in 50 mM phosphate buffer, pH 8.0, containing 300 mM NaCl and 2 mM histidine for approximately 30 min. The solution was clarified by centrifugation at 37000×g, 4° C. for 30 min, followed by a filtration applying a glass frit (DNA separation) and two additional filtration steps applying cellulose filters for crude and fine precipitates. The supernatant (approx. 500 ml) was applied onto a Ni²⁺-affinity column (1.6×20 cm) at a flow rate of 1 ml/min. Elution of QC was carried out with 50 mM phosphate buffer containing 150 mM NaCl and 100 mM histidine. The QC-containing fraction was concentrated by ultrafiltration.

Purification of QC from Papaya Latex

QC from papaya latex was prepared using the BioCAD 700E (Perseptive Biosystems, Wiesbaden, Germany) with a modified version of a previously reported method (Zerhouni, S. et al. 1989 Biochim Biophys Acta 138, 275-290). 50 g latex was dissolved in water and centrifugated as described therein. Inactivation of proteases was performed with S-methyl methanethiosulfonate, and the resultant crude extract was dialyzed. After dialysis, the entire supernatant was loaded onto a (21×2.5 cm i.d.) SP Sepharose Fast Flow column, equilibrated with 100 mM sodium acetate buffer, pH 5.0 (flow rate 3 ml/min). Elution was performed in three steps by increasing sodium acetate buffer concentration at a flow rate of 2 ml/min. The first step was a linear gradient from 0.1 to 0.5 M acetate buffer in 0.5 column volumes. The second step was a linear increase in buffer concentration from 0.5 to 0.68 M in four column volumes. During the last elution step, one column volume of 0.85 M buffer was applied. Fractions (6 ml) containing the highest enzymatic activity were pooled. Concentration and buffer changes to 0.02 M Tris/HCl, pH 8.0 were performed via ultrafiltration (Amicon; molecular mass cut-off of the membrane 10 kDa).

Ammonium sulfate was added to the concentrated papaya enzyme, obtained from the ion exchange chromatography step to a final concentration of 2 M. This solution was applied onto a (21×2.5 cm i.d.) Butyl Sepharose 4 Fast Flow column (flow rate 1.3 ml/min), equilibrated with 2 M ammonium sulfate, 0.02 M Tris/HCI, pH 8.0. Elution was performed in three steps with decreasing concentrations of ammonium sulfate. During the first step a linear gradient from 2 to 0.6 M ammonium sulfate, 0.02 M Tris/HCI, pH 8.0 was applied for 0.5 column volumes at a flow rate of 1.3 ml/min. The second step was a linear gradient from 0.6 to 0 M ammonium sulfate, 0.02 M Tris/HCI, pH 8.0, in 5 column volumes at a flow rate of 1.5 ml/min. The last elution step was carried out by applying 0.02 M Tris/HCl at pH 8.0 for 2 column volumes at a flow rate of 1.5 ml/min. All fractions containing QC activity were pooled and concentrated by ultrafiltration. The resultant homogenous QC was stored at −70° C. Final protein concentrations were determined using the method of Bradford, compared to a standard curve obtained with bovine serum albumin.

Example 2 Assays for Glutaminyl Cyclase Activity Fluorometric Assays

All measurements were performed with a BioAssay Reader HTS-7000Plus for microplates (Perkin Elmer) at 30° C. QC activity was evaluated fluorometrically using H-Gln-βNA. The samples consisted of 0.2 mM fluorogenic substrate, 0.25 U pyroglutamyl aminopeptidase (Unizyme, Hørsholm, Denmark) in 0.2 M Tris/HCl, pH 8.0 containing 20 mM EDTA and an appropriately diluted aliquot of QC in a final volume of 250 μl. Excitation/emission wavelengths were 320/410 nm. The assay reactions were initiated by addition of glutaminyl cyclase. QC activity was determined from a standard curve of β-naphthylamine under assay conditions. One unit is defined as the amount of QC catalyzing the formation of 1 μmol pGlu-βNA from H-Gln-βNA per minute under the described conditions.

In a second fluorometric assay, QC was activity was determined using H-Gln-AMC as substrate. Reactions were carried out at 30° C. utilizing the NOVOStar reader for microplates (BMG labtechnologies). The samples consisted of varying concentrations of the fluorogenic substrate, 0.1 U pyroglutamyl aminopeptidase (Qiagen) in 0.05 M Tris/HCl, pH 8.0 containing 5 mM EDTA and an appropriately diluted aliquot of QC in a final volume of 250 μl. Excitation/emission wavelengths were 380/460 nm. The assay reactions were initiated by addition of glutaminyl cyclase. QC activity was determined from a standard curve of 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin under assay conditions. The kinetic data were evaluated using GraFit sofware.

Spectrophotometric Assay of QC

This novel assay was used to determine the kinetic parameters for most of the QC substrates. QC activity was analyzed spectrophotometrically using a continuous method, that was derived by adapting a previous discontinuous assay (Bateman, R. C. J. 1989 J Neurosci Methods 30, 23-28) utilizing glutamate dehydrogenase as auxiliary enzyme. Samples consisted of the respective QC substrate, 0.3 mM NADH, 14 mM □-Ketoglutaric acid and 30 U/ml glutamate dehydrogenase in a final volume of 250 μl. Reactions were started by addition of QC and persued by monitoring of the decrease in absorbance at 340 nm for 8-15 min. Typical time courses of product formation are presented in FIG. 1.

The initial velocities were evaluated and the enzymatic activity was determined from a standard curve of ammonia under assay conditions. All samples were measured at 30° C., using either the SPECTRAFluor Plus or the Sunrise (both from TECAN) reader for microplates. Kinetic data was evaluated using GraFit software.

Inhibitor Assay

For inhibitor testing, the sample composition was the same as described above, except of the putative inhibitory compound added. For a rapid test of QC-inhibition, samples contained 4 mM of the respective inhibitor and a substrate concentration at 1 K_(M). For detailed investigations of the inhibition and determination of K_(i)-values, influence of the inhibitor on the auxiliary enzymes was investigated first. In every case, there was no influence on either enzyme detected, thus enabling the reliable determination of the QC inhibition. The inhibitory constant was evaluated by fitting the set of progress curves to the general equation for competitive inhibition using GraFit software.

Example 3 MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry was carried out using the Hewlett-Packard G2025 LD-TOF System with a linear time of flight analyzer. The instrument was equipped with a 337 nm nitrogen laser, a potential acceleration source (5 kV) and a 1.0 m flight tube. Detector operation was in the positive-ion mode and signals were recorded and filtered using LeCroy 9350M digital storage oscilloscope linked to a personal computer. Samples (5 μl) were mixed with equal volumes of the matrix solution. For matrix solution we used DHAP/DAHC, prepared by solving 30 mg 2′,6′-dihydroxyacetophenone (Aldrich) and 44 mg diammonium hydrogen citrate (Fluka) in 1 ml acetonitrile/0.1% TFA in water (1/1, v/v). A small volume (≈1 μl) of the matrix-analyte-mixture was transferred to a probe tip and immediately evaporated in a vacuum chamber (Hewlett-Packard G2024A sample prep accessory) to ensure rapid and homogeneous sample crystallization.

For long-term testing of Glu¹-cyclization, Aβ-derived peptides were incubated in 100 μl 0.1 M sodium acetate buffer, pH 5.2 or 0.1 M Bis-Tris buffer, pH 6.5 at 30° C. Peptides were applied in 0.5 mM [Aβ3-11a] or 0.15 mM [Aβ3-21a] concentrations, and 0.2 U QC was added all 24 hours.

In case of Aβ3-21a, the assays contained 1% DMSO. At different times, samples were removed from the assay tube, peptides extracted using ZipTips (Millipore) according to the manufacturer's recommendations, mixed with matrix solution (1:1 v/v) and subsequently the mass spectra recorded. Negative controls did either contain no QC or heat deactivated enzyme. For the inhibitor studies the sample composition was the same as described above, with exception of the inhibitory compound added (5 mM benzimidazole or 2 mM 1,10-phenanthroline).

Example 4 pH Dependence

The pH-dependence of catalysis of human and papaya QC was investigated under first-order rate conditions, thus reflecting the impact of the proton concentration on the specificity constant k_(cat)/K_(M). For this purpose, the coupled enzymatic assay using pyroglutamyl aminopeptidase as auxiliary enzyme and Gln-βNA as substrate was used. Pyroglutamyl aminopeptidase was shown to be active and stable between pH 5.5-8.5 (Tsuru, D. et al. 1978 J Biochem (Tokyo) 84, 467-476). Hence, the assay enabled the study of QC catalysis in this pH-region. The rate profiles obtained were fit to classical bell shaped curves, as shown in FIG. 2. The human QC bears a very narrow pH-dependence with an optimum at about pH 7.8-8.0. The rate tended to decrease at more basic pH. This is in contrast to the rate profile observed with papaya QC, which showed no drop in activity up to pH 8.5 (FIG. 2, inset). However, both enzymes had their optimum of specificity at pH 8. Surprisingly, evaluation of the curves revealed identical pK_(a)-values in the acidic range of 7.17±0.02 and 7.15±0.02 for human and papaya QC, respectively.

The reduction of the activity of human QC at basic pH-values was obviously due to dissociation of a group with a pK_(a) of approximately 8.5. In case of papaya QC, there was no excessive data point collection in the basic pH-range possible to enable a reliable determination of the second pK_(a) value. This is supported by fitting of the data to a single dissociation model, resulting in an almost identical pK_(a)-value (pKa 7.13±0.03) compared to fitting the data to a double dissociation model. This indicates that both pK_(a)-values are fairly separated.

pH Stability

The stability of the glutaminyl cyclases was investigated by incubating the plant and animal enzymes at 30° C. for 30 min at different pH values between pH 4-10. Afterwards, QC activity was determined under standard conditions. The results are shown in FIG. 3.

The QC from papaya latex was stable in the pH-range studied, without an obvious trend for instability in the acidic or basic range. In contrast, human QC only showed a comparable stability in the pH-range between 7 and 8.5, exhibiting a remarkable instability at pH values above pH 8.5 and below pH 6. Thus, the region around pH 8 seems to be optimal for activity and stability of plant and human QC and a suitable pH-value for performing a substrate specificity comparison of the QCs.

Example 5 Determination of Substrate Specificity of QC

Spectrophotometric Assay

The continuous spectrophotometric assay was performed as described in example 2. Accordingly, QC activity is reflected by a decrease in absorbance at 340 nm caused by the ammonia release and subsequent consumption of NADH/H⁺ due to formation of glutamate from α-ketoglutaric acid. As shown in FIG. 1, linear progress curves were monitored and there was a linear relationship between the measured activity and the concentration of QC. Furthermore, the kinetic parameters obtained for H-Gln-Gln-OH using the continuous assay presented here (Table 1) were in good agreement with those obtained using the discontinuous method (K_(M)=175±18 μM, k_(cat)=21.3±0.6 s⁻¹). In addition, the kinetic parameters for conversion of the substrates H-Gln-Ala-OH, H-Gln-Glu-OH, H-Gln-Gln-OH, H-Gln-OtBu and H-Gln-NH2 by papaya QC shown in Table 1 correspond well to those determined using a direct method at pH 8.8 and 37° C. (Gololobov, M. Y. et al. 1996 Biol Chem Hoppe Seyler 377, 395-398). Hence, it is quite obvious that the novel continuous assay provides reliable results.

Di-, Tri- and Dipeptide-Surrogates

Utilizing the novel continuous assay described above, about 30 compounds were tested as potential substrates of QC from C. papaya and human. The results are displayed in Table 5. By comparison of the specificities it was shown, that nearly all of the short peptide substrates are more efficiently converted by papaya QC compared to the human enzyme. Interestingly, for both enzymes substrates with large hydrophobic residues in the second position are the most potent ones, as shown by the specificities of H-Gln-Tyr-Ala-OH, H-Gln-Phe-Ala-NH² and H-Gln-Trp-Ala-NH² compared to those of other tripeptides or by the reactivities of the chromophoric substrates H-Gln-AMC, H-Gln-βNA and H-Gln-Tyr-OH in comparison to dipeptide substrates. For papaya QC, this finding is in agreement with earlier results showing that the specificity is in correlation with the size of the second amino acid residue (Gololobov, M. Y. et al. 1996 Biol Chem Hoppe Seyler 377, 395-398). The only striking difference in specificity of the plant and animal QC was observed in case of H-Gln-OtBu. Whereas the ester was converted by papaya QC with similar specificity compared to dipeptide substrates, it was converted about one order of magnitude slower by human QC.

Oligopeptides

Besides several dipeptides and tripeptides, a number of oligopeptides was tested upon conversion by papaya and human QC (Table 5). Interestingly, the overall difference in the specificities between human and plant QC for a set of tetrapeptides was not that large as it was observed for dipeptide and tripeptide substrates. This indicates that the amino acids in the 3^(rd) and 4^(th) position still affect the kinetic behavior especially of human QC. An exception, however, comprise the peptides with a proline residue in the second amino acid position which show noticeably reduced k_(cat)/K_(M) values in a set of tetrapeptides of the structure H-Gln-X_(aa)-Tyr-Phe-NH² (Table 5). The reduction in specificity was more pronounced for human QC, leading to an approximately 8-fold difference in the k_(cat)/K_(M)-value as compared to papaya QC.

Slightly reduced specificities of human QC were also observed for conversion of substrates with a positively charged amino acid C-terminal of glutamine, as indicated by the specificities for H-Gln-Arg-Tyr-Phe-NH² (SEQ ID NO: 14), H-Gln-Arg-Tyr-Phe-NH² (SEQ ID NO: 14) and H-Gln-Lys-Arg-Leu-NH² (SEQ ID NO: 15) as compared to other tetrapeptides. Apparently, the reduced specificity was mainly due to a smaller turnover number. This effect was not the case for the plant enzyme.

TABLE 5 Kinetic evaluation of peptide substrates of human and Papaya QC Human QC Papaya QC K_(i)* k_(cat)/K_(M) K_(i)* k_(cat)/K_(M) Substrate K_(M) (μM) k_(cat) (s⁻¹) (mM) (mM⁻¹s⁻¹) K_(M) (μM) k_(cat) (s⁻¹) (mM) (mM⁻¹s⁻¹) H-GIn-OH n.r. n.r. n.d. n.r. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.23 ± 0.1 H-Gln-AMC 54 ± 2  5.3 ± 0.1 n.d. 98 ± 2 42 ± 1 39.4 ± 0.4 n.d. 938 ± 13 H-GIn-DNA 70 ± 3 20.6 ± 0.5 1.21 ± 0.07 294 ± 6  38 ± 3 51.4 ± 1.4 1.20 ± 0.08 1353 ± 70  H-GIn-OtBu 1235 ± 74   6.7 ± 0.2 n.i.  5.4 ± 0.2 223 ± 9  49.4 ± 0.6 n.i. 222 ± 6  H-GIn-NH₂ 409 ± 40 12.8 ± 0.5 n.i. 31 t2 433 ± 13 44.8 ± 0.4 n.i. 103 ± 2  H-Gln-GIy-OH 247 ± 10 13.2 ± 0.2 n.i. 53 ± 1 641 ± 20 45.8 ± 0.4 n.i. 71 ± 2 H-GIn-Ala-OH 232 ± 5  57.2 ± 0.4 n.i. 247 ± 4  158 ± 8  69.8 ± 1.0 n.i. 442 ± 16 H-GIn-GIn-OH 148 ± 5  20.7 ± 0.2 n.i. 140 ± 2  44 ± 3 43.2 ± 0.7 n.i. 982 ± 51 H-GIn-GIu-OH 359 ± 10 24.7 ± 0.2 n.i. 58 ± 1 106 ± 5  50.3 ± 0.6 n.i. 475 ± 17 H-Gln-Val-OH 196 ± 5  17.2 ± 0.1 n.i. 88 ± 2 n.d. n.d. n.i. n.d. H-01n-Tyr-OH 211 ± 5  94 ± 1 n.i. 446 ± 6  n.d. n.d. n.i. n.d. H-Gln-Glu-Tyr- 79 ± 2 45.1 ± 0.4 n.i. 524 ± 8  103 ± 4  53.6 ± 0.7 n.i. 520 ± 13 NH2 H-GIn-Gly-Pro-OH 130 ± 5  25.3 ± 0.2 n.i. 195 ± 7  333 ± 15 41.7 ± 0.5 n.i. 125 ± 4  H-Gln-Tyr-Ala-OH 101 ± 4  125 ± 1  n.i. 930 ± 27 63 ± 3 104.0 ± 1.0  n.i. 1650 ± 63  H-Gln-Phe-Ala- 69 ± 3 109 ± 1  n.i. 1811 ± 64  111 ± 5  132.1 ± 0.6  n.i. 1190 ± 48  NH₂ H-GIn-Trp-Ala- 50 ± 2 47.0 ± 0.7 n.i. 940 ± 24 78 ± 5 151.8 ± 2.6  n.i. 1946 ± 91  NH₂ H-GIn-Arg-Gly- 143 ± 4  33.5 ± 0.4 n.i. 234 ± 4  123 ± 10 49.2 ± 1.7 n.i. 400 ± 19 Ile-NH2 (SEQ ID NO: 16) H-GIn-Asn-Gly- 172 ± 5  56.6 ± 0.5 n.i. 329 ± 7  153 ± 9  51.4 ± 0.9 n.i. 336 ± 14 Ile-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 17) H-GIn-Ser-Tyr- 55 ± 3 52.8 ± 0.8 n.i. 960 ± 38 135 ± 6  64.9 ± 1.0 n.i. 481 ± 14 Phe-NH₂(SEQ ID NO: 18) H-GIn-Arg-Tyr- 55 ± 2 29.6 ± 0.3 n.i. 538 ± 14 124 ± 6  48.9 ± 0.7 n.i. 394 ± 13 Phe-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 14) H-Gln-Pro-Tyr- 1889 ± 152 31.7 ± 1.2 n.i. 17 ± 1 149 ± 14 18.8 ± 0.6 n.i. 126 ± 8  Phe-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 19) H-Gln-His-Tyr- 68 ± 3 55.4 ± 0.7 n.i. 815 ± 26 92 ± 7 75.9 ± 1.4 n.i. 825 ± 48 Phe-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 20) H-Gln-Gln-Tyr- 41 ± 2 41.4 ± 0.4 n.i. 1010 ± 40  45 ± 2 52.9 ± 0.7 n.i. 1176 ± 37  Phe-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 21) H-Gln-Glu-Tyr- 47 ± 4 46 ± 1 979 ± 62 100 ± 4  54.6 ± 0.6 n.i. 546 ± 16 Phe-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 22) H-Gln-Glu-Ala- 77 ± 4 46 ± 1 n.i. 597 ± 18 102 ± 4  53.7 ± 0.6 n.i. 526 ± 15 Ala-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 23) H-Gln-Glu-Tyr- 69 ± 2 42.1 ± 0.4 n.i. 610 ± 12 113 ± 5  44.7 ± 0.5 n.i. 396 ± 13 Ala-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 24) H-Gln-Glu-Ala- 39 ± 3 39 ± 1 n.i. 1000 ± 51  81 ± 3  48.5 ± 0.45 n.i. 599 ± 17 Phe-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 25) H-Gln-Glu-Asp- 55 ± 2 45.8 ± 0.5 n.i. 833 ± 21 107 ± 6  58.5 ± 0.4 n.i. 547 ± 27 Leu-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 26) H-Gln-Lys-Arg- 54 ± 3 33.4 ± 0.5 n.i. 619 ± 25 118 ± 6  48.2 ± 0.8 n.i. 408 ± 14 Leu-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 15) (n.r., not reactive; n.i., no inhibition; n.d., not determined; *for substrate inhibition)

The results obtained with the tetrapeptides give also rise to another conclusion. As already pointed out, papaya QC showed a higher selectivity for dipeptides. For some of the tetrapeptides, however, higher specificity-constants were observed with human QC, as shown in FIG. 4 providing a plot of the data given in Table 5, for a set of peptides containing glutamate in the second amino acid position. Furthermore, as the chain length increases from di- to tetrapeptides, the selectivity of human QC increases, in contrast to the results obtained with papaya QC. Additionally, the highest selectivity of human QC was recorded for the peptides containing bulky hydrophobic residues in the 3^(rd) and 4^(th) amino acid position, which indicate hydrophobic interactions with the enzyme. By comparison of the kinetic parameters for the respective peptides, the changes seem to be mainly due to lower KM-values, the turnover numbers for conversion of the peptides were found to be similar. Thus, the higher selectivity of human QC for longer peptides is considered to be the result of tighter binding of the more hydrophobic substrates to the enzyme.

The differences between human and plant QC observed with peptides containing hydrophobic amino acids in the 3^(rd) and 4^(th) position becomes also evident by a comparison of the specificity constants of the enzymes towards H-Gln-Arg-Gly-Ile-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 16) and H-Gln-Arg-Tyr-Phe-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 14) or H-Gln-Gln-OH and H-Gln-Gln-Tyr-Phe-OH. (SEQ ID NO: 21)

Human QC was also found to be more selective for homologous substrates containing N-terminal Gln and an increasing number of C-terminal Ala residues (Table 6). While the selectivity of human QC increased with substrate length, there was no such a trend with the papaya QC. Since human QC was less specific for a peptide containing a Ser residue in the sequence, also the nature of the side chain seems to be of importance (table 6).

TABLE 6 Influence of substrate length on the activity of human and Papaya QC Human QC Papaya QC k_(cat)/K_(M) k_(cat)/K_(M) Substrate K_(M) (μM) k_(cat) (s⁻¹) (mM⁻¹ s⁻¹) K_(M) (μM) k_(cat) (s⁻¹) (mM⁻¹ s⁻¹) H-GIn-Ala-NH₂ 155 ± 9  40.1 ± 0.9 259 ± 9   212 ± 21 62.8 ± 3.0 296 ± 15 H-GIn-Ala-Ala- 87 ± 3 76.3 ± 0.7 877 ± 22 164 ± 6 83.2 ± 1.0 507 ± 12 NH₂ H-GIn-Ala-Ala- 65 ± 3 60.5 ± 0.7 1174 ± 43  197 ± 8 74.6 ± 1.0 379 ± 10 Ala-Ala-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 27) H-Gln-Ala-Ala-Ser- 79 ± 6 55.3 ± 1.6 700 ± 33 216 ± 6 78.5 ± 1.0 363 ± 5  Ala-Ala-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 28) Influence of Ionic Strength on Catalysis

Another parameter that was investigated concerning its influence on the substrate specificity was ionic strength. For that purpose, the kinetic parameters for cyclization of several substrates were determined in presence and absence of 0.5 M KCl (Table 7). Surprisingly, the selectivity for substrates with uncharged backbone did not change significantly by addition of the salt in case of QC from papaya latex and human QC. The specificity constants of the human QC for H-Gln-Ala-OH and H-Gln-Glu-OH, however, decreased by addition of KCl. As indicated by the individual kinetic parameters, this effect was due to an increasing K_(M) and an only slightly decreasing k_(cat)-value. In case of papaya QC, there was no effect on either parameter detected. The effect seemed not to be due to the negatively charged substrate as such, since unchanged parameters were found for the negatively charged peptide H-Gln-Glu-Asp-Leu-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 26). An interesting effect of the salt addition was found for the positively charged substrates H-Gln-Arg-Gly-Ile-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 16) and H-Gln-Lys-Arg-Leu-NH₂(SEQ ID NO: 15). In case of plant and human QC, a positive effect on catalysis was determined mainly due to a smaller KM value and a slightly higher turnover number.

TABLE 7 Influence of ionic strength on catalysis of human and Papaya QC K_(M) k_(cat) k_(cat)/K_(M) K_(i) K_(M) k_(cat) k_(cat)/K_(M) K_(i) Substrate (mM) (s⁻¹) (mM⁻¹s⁻¹) (mM) (mM) (s⁻¹) (mM⁻¹s⁻¹) (mM) 0.05 M Tricine-NaOH, pH 0.05 M Tricine-NaOH, pH 8.0 8.0, 0.5 M KCl Papaya H-Gln-NH₂ 0.434 ± 0.015 43.4 ± 0.4 100 ± 3  n.i. 0.446 ± 0.010 45.2 ± 0.3 101 ± 2 n.i. QC H-Gln-βNA 0.036 ± 0.002 48.8 ± 1.0 1356 ± 50  1.14 ± 0.05 0.032 ± 0.002 47.2 ± 0.8 1475 ± 70 1.33 ± 0.07 H-Gln-Ala-OH 0.137 ± 0.007 69.7 ± .9  509 ± 19 n.i. 0.143 ± 0.005 68.1 ± 0.6  480 ± 12 n.i. H-Gln-Glu-OH 0.098 ± 0.005 45.0 ± 0.5 459 ± 18 n.i. 0.094 ± 0.003 44.4 ± 0.3  472 ± 12 n.i. H-Gln-Trp- 0.079 ± 0.005 138 ± 3  1747 ± 73  n.i. 0.072 ± 0.004 133 ± 3  1847 ± 61 n.i. Ala-NH₂ H-Gln-Arg- 0.106 ± 0.008 52.9 ± 1.2 499 ± 26 n.i. 0.065 ± 0.005 48.4 ± 1.0  745 ± 42 n.i. Gly-Ile-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 16) H-Gln-Lys- 0.102 ± 0.007 50 ± 1 493 ± 22 n.i. 0.053 ± 0.002 58.1 ± 0.7 1096 ± 28 n.i. Arg-Leu-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 15) H-Gln-Glu- 0.109 ± 0.005 52.4 ± 0.7 481 ± 16 n.i. 0.094 ± 0.003 53.6 ± 0.5  570 ± 13 n.i. Asp-Leu-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 26) 0.05 M Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 0.5 M 0.05 M Tris-HCl, pH 8.0 KCl Human H-Gln-NH₂ 0.442 ± 0.030 12.8 ± 0.3 29 ± 1 n.i. 0.401 ± 0.014 12.2 ± 0.1  30 ± 1 n.i. QC H-Gln-βNA 0.076 ± 0.004 21.7 ± 0.5 285 ± 8  1.39 ± 0.08 0.063 ± 0.003 20.0 ± 0.4 318 ± 9 0.97 ± 0.04 H-Gln-Ala-OH 0.269 ± 0.007 54.4 ± 0.5 202 ± 3  n.i. 0.357 ± 0.012 47.6 ± 0.6 133 ± 3 n.i. H-Gln-Glu-OH 0.373 ± 0.015 21.4 ± 0.3 57 ± 2 n.i. 0.607 ± 0.036 18.9 ± 0.5  31 ± 1 n.i. H-Gln-Trp- 0.054 ± 0.003 50.8 ± 0.6 941 ± 41 n.i. 0.056 ± 0.002 50.0 ± 0.4  893 ± 25 n.i. Ala-NH₂ H-Gln-Arg- 0.166 ± 0.013 31 ± 1 187 ± 9  n.i. 0.091 ± 0.005 29.8 ± 0.5  327 ± 12 n.i. Gly-Ile-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 16) H-Gln-Lys- 0.051 ± 0.003 29.4 ± 0.5 577 ± 24 n.i. 0.034 ± 0.001 31.6 ± 0.3  929 ± 19 n.i. Arg-Leu-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 15) H-Gln-Glu- 0.060 ± 0.002 46.6 ± 0.5 777 ± 18 n.i. 0.061 ± 0.002 45.6 ± 0.5  748 ± 16 n.i. Asp-Leu-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 26) Physiological Substrates

In earlier studies, conversion of [Gln¹]-TRH and [Gln¹]-GnRH by QC was already shown for the QC from bovine and porcine pituitary (Busby, W. H. J. et al. 1987 J Biol Chem 262, 8532-8536; Fischer, W. H. and Spiess, J. 1987 Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 84, 3628-3632). In addition to these already investigated pituitary hormones, three potential physiological substrates of human QC were synthesized and tested upon conversion, namely [Gln¹]Gastrin, [Gln¹]Neurotensin, and [Gln¹]FPP. The kinetic parameters for their conversion are listed in Table 1. Interestingly, the glutaminyl peptides are converted to the respective pyroglutamyl peptides with increasing specificity constants depending on their size, i.e., the first largest peptide pro-gastrin with 17 amino acids followed by pro-neurotensin, pro-GnRH, pro-TRH and pro-FPP. These findings correspond to the data obtained with the synthetic peptides.

Surprisingly, the longer substrates are also converted with higher selectivity by the plant enzyme, a result that contrasts in part with the findings for the shorter oligopeptides. Possibly, there are secondary binding interactions between substrate and enzyme far distant from the active site.

Peptides Comprising Modified Amino Acids

In order to further investigate the specificity and selectivity of the QCs, peptides were synthesized comprising either a modified N-terminal glutaminyl residue or a modified amino acid in the second position. The conversion of these peptides was investigated qualitatively utilizing MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (see also example 3). Due to the cyclization of the glutaminyl residue or its analog, respectively, a mass difference of the substrate and the product of catalysis is detected. In cases of ammonia liberation of one mole per mole of substrate, the conversion was also analyzed quantitatively using the spectrophotometric assay.

H-Gln-Lys(Gln)-Arg-Leu-Ala-NH₂. This N-terminally branched peptide, comprising two glutaminyl residues at the N-terminus that are bound to a lysyl residue via a peptide- and partial isopeptide bond, was converted by human (FIG. 5) and papaya QC (not shown) in an apparently identical manner. Both glutaminyl residues were converted into pyroglutamic acid, without any detectable preference for a distinct residue, as indicated by the consistent substrate conversion (FIG. 5). Thus, the selectivity of the QCs for the differently bound glutaminyl residues differs not fundamentally.

H-Gln(NMe)-Phe-Lys-Ala-Glu-NH₂. (SEQ ID NO: 2) The methylated glutaminyl residue was only converted into a pyroglutamyl residue by papaya QC (FIG. 6). Additionally, an inhibition of the human QC by the peptide was not detected, indicating that the methylated residue is not recognized by human QC.

H-Glu(OMe)-βNA and H-Glu-βNA. Neither of these compounds were converted by papaya or human QC. These fluorogenic substrates were analyzed fluorometrically, utilizing pyroglutamyl aminopeptidase as auxiliary enzyme. The O-methylated glutamate residue, however, showed a remarkable instability in both, Tris and Tricine buffers tending to a non-enzymatically catalyzed cyclization. Furthermore, activity of both QCs against H-Gln-AMC as substrate was not inhibited by the longer peptides H-Glu(OMe)-Phe-Lys-Arg-Leu-Ala-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 29) or H-Glu-Phe-Lys-Arg-Leu-Ala-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 30), indicating that glutamic acid or derivates are not recognized by both QC forms. Furthermore, the result implies that not only the negative charge of the glutamic acid residue is the reason for the repulsion of the peptide from the active site.

H-Gln-cyclo(Nε-Lys-Arg-Pro-Ala-Gly-Phe) (SEQ ID NO: 51). The conversion of H-Gln-cyclo(Nε-Lys-Arg-Pro-Ala-Gly-Phe) (SEQ ID NO: 51), which contains an intramolecular partial isopeptide bond was analyzed quantitatively, revealing K_(M)-values of 240±14 μM and 133±5 μM for human and papaya QC, respectively. Due to the higher turnover number of conversion by papaya QC (49.4±0.6 s⁻¹) compared to human QC (22.8±0.6 s⁻¹), the plant enzyme exhibits with 372±9 mM⁻¹ min⁻¹ an approximately 4-fold higher k_(cat)/K_(M)-value than the human QC. Thus, the specificity constant is in case of the papaya QC only slightly smaller compared to substrates having a similar size, such as H-Gln-Ala-Ala-Ser-Ala-Ala-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 28). The k_(cat)/K_(M)-value for human QC, however, was found with 95±3 mM⁻¹ s⁻¹ to be approximately one order of magnitude smaller in comparison with substrates of similar size (Table 5).

H-βhomoGln-Phe-Lys-Arg-Leu-Ala-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 29). The N-terminal β-homoglutaminyl residue was converted into a five-membered lactam ring by catalysis of human and papaya QC, respectively. The concomitant liberation of ammonia was analyzed spectrophotometrically and by MALDI-tof analysis as described before. There was no liberation of ammonia detected when QC was omitted or boiled, indicating a specific catalysis of the cyclization. Interestingly, the QC from C. papaya (K_(M)=3.1±0.3 mM, k_(cat)=4.0±0.4 s⁻¹) and human (K_(M)=2.5±0.2 mM, k_(cat)=3.5±0.1 s⁻¹) catalyze the conversion of this peptide with almost identical k_(cat)/K_(M) values of 1.4±0.1 and 1.3±0.1 mM⁻¹s⁻¹, respectively. Thus, the cyclization of the β-homoglutamine residue is catalyzed with an approximately 1000-fold reduced efficiency compared to peptides of similar size containing a glutaminyl residue at their N-terminus. This shows that the constitution of the α-carbon of the substrate is important for substrate recognition by the QC forms, but not essential. The essential requirement for being a substrate is a γ-amide group and an unprotonated N-terminal amino group in distance and angle prone for cyclization, a requirement that is fulfilled by N-terminal glutaminyl and βhomo-glutaminyl residues.

Example 6 Synthesis of the QC Substrates

Oligopeptides.

Peptides were synthesized semiautomatically in 0.5 mmol scale using a peptide synthesizer (Labortec SP650, Bachem, Switzerland) as previously described (Schilling, S. et al. 2002 Biochemistry 41, 10849-10857). Longer peptides were synthesized in 25 μmol scale using the automated Symphony peptide synthesizer (Rainin Instrument Co.) as described (Manhart, S. et al. 2003 Biochemistry 42, 3081-3088). For all peptide couplings modified Fmoc-protocols of solid-phase peptide synthesis were employed using 2-(1H-Benzotriazole-1-yl)-1,1,3,3,-tetramethyluronium tetrafluoroborate (TBTU; Novabiochem)/base (diisopropyl ethylamine or N-methyl-morpholine; Merck) or in case of difficult couplings N-[(Dimethylamino)-1H-1,2,3,-triazolo[4,5-b]pyridin-1-ylmethylene]-N-methylmethanamminium hexafluorophosphate N-oxide (4,5) (HATU; Applied Biosystems)/diisopropyl ethylamine as activating reagents were used. After cleavage from the resin by trifluoroacetic acid (TFA; Merck) containing cocktail, the crude peptides were purified by preparative HPLC with acid free solvents in order to avoid further cyclization of the N-terminal glutamine. Preparative HPLC was performed with a linear gradient of acetonitrile (Merck) in water (5-40% or 65% acetonitrile over 40 min) on a 250-21 Luna RP18 column (Phenomenex). To confirm peptide purity and identity analytical HPLC and ESI-MS was employed.

Glu(NH—NH₂)-Ser-Pro-Thr-Ala-NH₂(SEQ ID NO: 32). The linear precursor peptide (Fmoc-Glu-Ser-Pro-Thr-Ala-NH₂) (SEQ ID NO: 33) was synthesized according to standard Fmoc-procedures (Schilling, S. et al. 2002 Biochemistry 41, 10849-10857) on Rink amide MBHA resin (Novabiochem). After cleavage of the Fmoc-protected peptide from the resin, the peptide was precipitated with diethyl ether (Merck), filtered and dried. HMBA-AM resin (1.16 mmol/g, Novabiochem) was used for coupling of the γ-carboxylic acid group of glutamic acid of the precursor peptide (3 eq.) in dichloromethane (DCM, Merck). Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC, Serva) (4 eq.) and dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP, Aldrich) (0.1 eq) were used as coupling reagents. After 12 hours the resin was filtered, washed with DCM and the reaction was repeated. After deprotection of the N-terminal Fmoc-group by employing 20% piperidine in DMF (3×5 min) the peptide resin was treated with a 5% hydrazine solution (20 ml/g) for 1.5 hours. The resin was filtered and washed with dimethylformamide (DMF, Roth, Germany) and TFA. Following evaporation, the crude peptide was precipitated with ether giving 76% yield.

H-Gln-Lys(Gln)-Arg-Leu-Ala-NH₂. The linear peptide was synthesized according to standard Fmoc/tBu-procedure on Rink amide MBHA (Schilling, S. et al. 2002 Biochemistry 41, 10849-10857) using Fmoc-Lys(Fmoc)-OH as penultimate amino acid coupling. After deprotection of the two amino protecting groups of lysine with 20% piperidine (Merck) in DMF, 4 eq. Fmoc-Gln(Trt)-OH were coupled. Standard cleavage procedure resulted in 95% yield.

H-Gln(NMe)-Phe-Lys-Ala-Glu-NH₂. (SEQ ID NO: 2) Fmoc-Gln(NMe)—OH was synthesized starting from Fmoc-Glu-OtBu loaded on Fmoc-MI-AM (Novabiochem) resin. After swelling with DCM, the resin (0.5 g) was washed with DMF and deprotected with 20% piperidine solution in DMF. The resin was given into 5 ml DMF and 5 eq. Fmoc-Glu-OtBu, 5 eq. HATU and 10 eq. DIPEA were added subsequently and shaked for 6 hours. After filtration and washing, the product was cleaved according to standard TFA cleavage conditions. The peptide H-Gln(NMe)-Phe-Lys-Ala-Glu-NH₂ (SEQ ID NO: 2) was synthesized as described (Schilling, S. et al. 2002 Biochemistry 41, 10849-10857). Fmoc-Gln(NMe)—OH was coupled with HATU/DIPEA overnight. Standard cleavage procedure resulted in 78% of the crude peptide.

H-Glu(OMe)-β-naphthylamide, H-Gln-Val-OH, H-Gln-Tyr-OH. Boc-protected dipeptides were synthesized applying standard mixed anhydride procedure by using isobutyl chlorocarbonate (Merck). The C-terminal methylesters Boc-Gln-Tyr-OMe and Boc-Gln-Val-OMe were saponified by 1N NaOH in dioxane. The Boc-protected peptides were deprotected by HCl/dioxane solution for 10 min. After evaporation the residue was crystallized with several solvents giving 60-70% of a solid compound.

H-Gln-cyclo(Nε-Lys-Arg-Pro-Ala-Gly-Phe) (SEQ ID NO: 51). The linear precursor Boc-Gln(Trt)-Lys-Arg(Pmc)-Ala-Gly-Phe-OH (SEQ ID NO: 34) was synthesized on acid sensitive 2-chlorotrityl resin. Coupling was carried out using a standard protocol of Fmoc/tBu-strategy using Fmoc-Lys(Mtt)-OH. After cleavage with 3% TFA solution in DCM (10 times 5 min), the solution was neutralized with 10% pyridine (Merck) in methanol (MeOH; Merck), washed 3 times with DCM and MeOH, evaporated to 5% of the volume and the crude peptide was precipitated with ice cold water. Following, the crude peptide was cyclized using DCC/1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt; Aldrich) activation. The crude peptide was dissolved in dry dichloromethane (0.2 mmol/50 ml), 0.2 mmol N-methylmorpholine and 0.4 mmol 1-hydroxybenzotriazole were added. This solution was added dropwise to a solution of 0.4 mmol dicyclohexylcarbodiimide in 250 ml dichloromethane at 0° C. The reaction was completed by stirring overnight at room temperature. After filtration of N,N′-dicyclohexylurea, the solvent was removed by evaporation. The residue was dissolved in ethyl acetate and washed several times with 1N HCl, saturated solution of NaHCO₃ and water. The solution was dried over anhydrous Na₂SO₄, filtered and evaporated to dryness in vacuo.

Example 7 Characterization of Effectors of QC

Imidazole Derivatives

Imidazole and benzimidazole derivatives carrying substituents in different positions of the 5-membered ring were tested as inhibitors of QC (Table 3). The constitution of the numbers refers to the imidazole ring. The applied methods are described in example 2.

C-4(5) and C-4,5 Derivatives.

The compounds carrying substitutions in either in the constitutionally equivalent 4- or 5-position of the imidazole ring or in both positions showed a diminished potency for inhibition of human QC. The only exception, however, comprised N-ω-acetylated histamine that proved to be one of the most potent inhibitory compounds. Small substituents in these positions had only little effect on binding as indicated by the similar inhibition constant of 5-hydroxymethyl-4-methyl-imidazole compared to imidazole. Larger and more bulky groups attached to these sites diminished or abolished binding of the compound by the enzyme. Some of the other substituents tested are known to exert negative inductive or mesomeric effects that are capable to reduce the electron density in the imidazole ring, which also contributes to poorer binding constants. The difference in the K_(i) values of L-histidine and histidinamide also indicate some influence of the charge on binding. Evidence for electrostatic repulsion of charged substrates were already shown in the substrate specificity studies, i.e. glutaminamide was readily converted to products by human QC, but no reactivity was observed for free glutamine as substrate.

C-2 Derivatives.

All derivatives tested inhibited QC more weakly as imidazole. Any substitution bigger than a proton hinders proper QC-binding. Only due to the methyl group in 2-methyl-benzimidazole, the inhibition constant drops about one order of magnitude. A very similar relation was shown by comparison of the Ki-values for benzimidazole and 2-amino-benzimidazole. Additionally, the results indicate that the influence is not related to electronic alterations.

N-1 Derivatives.

Among the imidazole derivatives tested on inhibition of human QC, most compounds that had improved Ki-values compared to imidazole showed alterations at one nitrogen atom. These compounds also contained one of the most effective QC inhibitors, 1-benzylimidazole. Interestingly, only little alterations of this structure led to a loss of inhibitory quality, as can be seen for 1-benzoylimidazole and phenylimidazole, which was inactive under the experimental conditions. Also in this case, the observed changes seemed not to be only caused by a reduced electron density of the imidazole ring due to the negative mesomeric effect of the Phenyl group, because also the bulky trimethyl-silyl group, exhibiting a positive inductive effect showed reduced binding compared to other residues. Interestingly, one of the less effective compounds of this group was 1-aminopropyl-imidazole. The small efficacy of this compound is caused by the basic amino group, since the sterically similar compounds 1-methylimidazole and 1-vinylimidazole showed improved binding to the active site. Thus, the positively charged amino group accounts for the smaller Ki-value, a result that is corroborated by a comparison of the Ki-values of N-ω-acetylated histamine (Table 3) and histamin (Table 4).

Effect of 3,4 and 3,5 Derivatization.

The imidazole derivatives that contained substituents in positions 4(5) or both were shown to have a restricted efficiency for binding to the enzyme. The effect of the specific substitutions were specified by comparison of the inhibitory constants of L-histamine and the two intermediates in the biological degradation of histamine, 3-methyl-4-histamine and 3-methyl-5-histamine (Table 4). L-Histamine revealed a K_(i) value that was about one order of magnitude smaller compared to its acetylated counterpart. Methylation of one nitrogen resulted in a considerable improvement of efficacy in case of 3-methyl-4-histamine. Methylation leading to 3-methyl-5-histamine, however, resulted in a complete loss of inhibitory activity. Thus, the observed effect seems to be mainly caused by a sterical hindrance of binding due to the derivatisation of the carbon adjacent to the basic nitrogen. Presumably, the basic nitrogen plays a key role for binding to the enzyme.

Example 8 Formation of A β3-40/42 Derivatives

The measurements were carried out with two short N-terminal peptide sequences of Aβ3-40/42, [Gln³]-Aβ1-11 (sequence: DAQFRHDSGYE) (SEQ ID NO: 35) and [Gln³]Aβ3-11, which contain a glutamine instead of an glutamic acid residue in the third position. Cleavage by DP IV and cyclization of the N-terminal glutamine residue by QC of the two peptides was tested using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Measurements were carried out using purified DP IV (porcine kidney) or crude porcine pituitary homogenate as sources of QC as well as for both enzymes for measurements of consecutive catalysis.

Results

1. Formation of [Gln³]Aβ3-11a from [Gln³]Aβ1-11a Catalysed by DPIV and its Prevention by the DP IV-Inhibitor Val-Pyrrolidide (Val-Pyrr)

DPIV or DPIV-like activity is cleaving [Gln³]Aβ1-11a under formation of [Gln³]Aβ3-11a (FIG. 7). The residue in the third position is uncovered by this cleavage and becomes therefore accessible for modification by other enzymes, i.e. QC. As expected, catalysis can be completely prevented by Val-Pyrr (FIG. 8).

2. Formation of [pGlu³]Aβ3-11a from [Gln³]Aβ3-11a by Catalysis of QC in Pituitary Homogenate and Prevention by 1,10-Phenanthroline

Glutaminyl cyclase present in the homogenate of porcine pituitary catalyzes conversion of [Gln³]Aβ3-11a to [pGlu³]Aβ3-11a (FIG. 9). Formation of [pGlu³]Aβ3-11a was inhibited by addition of 1,10-phenanthroline (FIG. 10).

3. Consecutive Catalysis of DPIV and QC Resulting in Formation of [pGlu³]Aβ3-11a and Prevention by Val-Pyrr and 1,10-Phenanthroline

Formation of [pGlu³]Aβ3-11a from [Gln³]Aβ1-11a takes place after consecutive catalysis by DP IV and QC, measured in crude homogenate of porcine pituitary with added DPIV from porcine kidney (FIG. 11). [pGlu³]Aβ3-11a was not formed when the QC-inhibitor 1,10-phenanthroline (FIG. 12) or the DP IV-inhibitor Val-Pyrr was added (FIG. 13). The slight appearance of [pGlu³]Aβ3-11a is due to aminopeptidase cleavage and following cyclization of the glutamine residue, also indicated by formation of [Gln³]Aβ2-11a.

4. Formation of [pGlu³]Aβ3-11a in Crude Pituitary Homogenate by Catalysis of Aminopeptidase(s)

Due to the formation of [pGlu³]Aβ3-11a that was not dependent on DPIV catalysis, degradation of [Gln³]Aβ1-11a was investigated in crude pituitary homogenate without added DPIV (FIG. 14). As expected from the data in section 4, formation of [pGlu³]Aβ3-11a was observed. The data show that the degradation of [Gln³]Aβ1-11a may also be catalyzed by aminopeptidase(s), resulting in [pGlu³]Aβ3-11a. Hence, the results show that pyroglutamyl formation is an endpoint of N-terminal peptide degradation in this tissue, further supporting the role of QC in plaque formation.

Example 9 Turnover of [Gln³]A□3-11a; 3-21a and 3-40 by Recombinant Human QC

All [Gln³]Aβ derived peptides tested were efficiently converted by human QC into the corresponding pyroglutamyl forms (Table 8). Due to the poor solubility of [Gln³]Aβ3-21a and [Gln³]Aβ3-40 in aqueous solution, the determinations were carried out in presence of 1% DMSO. The better solubility of [Gln³]Aβ3-11a, however, allowed the kinetic analysis of the QC-catalyzed turnover in presence and absence of DMSO (Table 8). Taken together, the investigation of the Aβ peptides as QC-substrates with chain-length of 8, 18 and 37 amino acids (see Table 8) confirmed the observation that human QC-activity increases with the length of its substrates. Accordingly, Gln1-gastrin, Gln1-neurotensin, Gln1-GnRH are among the best QC-substrates taking the specificity constants into account. Similarly, [Gln³]Aβ3-40 and glucagon, the largest QC-substrates investigated thus far, exhibited high second order rate constants (449 mM⁻¹s⁻¹ and 526 mM⁻¹s⁻¹ respectively) even in presence of 1% DMSO (Table 8).

Interestingly, the kinetic parameters for the conversion of the investigated amyloid peptides did not change dramatically with increasing size, suggesting only moderate effects of the C-terminal part of Aβ on QC catalysis. Therefore, due to better solubility and experimental handling, the further investigations concerning N-terminal aminopeptidase processing of these peptides were performed using the smaller fragments of A[INSERT SYMBOL], [Gln³]Aβ1-11a, [Gln³]Aβ3-11a and Aβ3-11a.

TABLE 8 Kinetic parameters for conversion of N-terminally Gln-containing peptides by recombinant human QC in buffer solution containing 1% DMSO k_(cat)/K_(M) Peptide K_(M) (μM) k_(cat) (s⁻¹) (mM⁻¹s⁻¹) [Gln³]Aβ3-11a  87 ± 3^(#)   55 ± 1^(#) 632 ± 10^(#) [Gln³]Aβ3-11a 155 ± 4 41.4 ± 0.4 267 ± 4 [Gln³]Aβ3-21a 162 ± 12   62 ± 3 383 ± 10 [Gln³]Aβ3-40  89 ± 10   40 ± 2 449 ± 28 Glucagon (3-29)  19 ± 1 10.0 ± 0.2 526 ± 17 ^(#)Determined in absence of DMSO

Example 10 Turnover of Aβ3-11a and Aβ3-21a by Recombinant Human QC

The incubation of Aβ3-11a and Aβ3-21a in presence of QC revealed that in contrast to previous work, glutamate-containing peptides can also serve as QC-substrates (FIGS. 15C and D). The QC-catalyzed formation of [pGlu³]Aβ3-11a and [pGlu³]Aβ3-21a was investigated at pH 5.2 and 6.5, respectively. If the QC-inhibitor benzimidazole was added to the solution before starting the assay by addition of QC, substrate conversion resulting in [pGlu³]Aβ3-11a or [pGlu³]Aβ3-21a was suppressed (FIGS. 15E and F). If QC was boiled before addition, formation of the pGlu-peptides was negligible (FIGS. 15A and B).

Example 11 pH-Dependency of the Papaya QC-Catalyzed Cyclization of Gln-βNA and Glu-βNA

Papaya QC converted Glu-βNA in a concentration range up to 2 mM (which was limited by substrate solubility) in accordance with Michaelis-Menten kinetics (FIG. 16). Inspection of turnover versus substrate concentration diagrams for the QC-catalyzed conversion of Glu-βNA, studied between pH 6.1 and 8.5, revealed that for this Glu-substrate both parameters, K_(M) and k_(cat), changed in a pH-dependent manner (FIG. 16). This is in contrast to the previously described QC-catalyzed glutamine cyclization, for which only changes in KM were observed over the given pH range (Gololobov, M. Y., Song, I., Wang, W., and Bateman, R. C. (1994) Arch Biochem Biophys 309, 300-307).

Subsequently, to study the impact of the proton concentration during Glu- and Gln-cyclization, the pH-dependence of cyclization of Glu-βNA and Gln-βNA under first-order rate-law conditions (i.e. substrate concentrations far below K_(M)-values) was investigated (FIG. 17). The cyclization of glutamine has a pH-optimum at pH 8.0, in contrast to the cyclization of glutamic acid which showed a pH-optimum of pH 6.0. While the specificity constants at the respective pH-optima differ approximately 80,000-fold, the ratio of QC versus EC activity around pH 6.0, is only about 8,000.

The nonenzymatic pGlu-formation from Gln-βNA investigated at pH 6.0, was followed for 4 weeks and revealed a first-order rate constant of 1.2*10⁻⁷ s⁻¹. However, during the same time period, no pGlu-βNA was formed from Glu-βNA, allowing to estimate a limiting rate constant for turnover of 1.0*10⁻⁹ s⁻¹.

Example 12 Enzyme Inactivation/Reactivation Procedures

An aliquot of human QC (0.1-0.5 mg, 1 mg/ml) was inactivated overnight by dialysis against a 3000-fold excess of 5 mM 1,10-phenanthroline or 5 mM dipicolinic acid in 0.05 M Bis-Tris/HCl, pH 6.8. Subsequently, the inactivating agent was carefully removed by dialysis (3 cycles, 2000-fold excess) of the samples against 0.05 M Bis-Tris/HCl, pH 6.8, containing 1 mM EDTA. Reactivation experiments were performed at room temperature for 15 minutes using Zn⁺⁺, Mn⁺⁺, Ni⁺⁺, Ca⁺⁺, K⁺ and Co⁺⁺ ions at concentrations of 1.0, 0.5, 0.25 mM in 0.025 M Bis-Tris, pH 6.8 containing 0.5 mM EDTA. QC activity assays were performed in 0.05 M Tris/HCl, pH 8.0, containing 2 mM EDTA, in order to avoid a rapid reactivation by traces of metal ions present in buffer solutions.

The inhibition of porcine QC by 1,10-phenanthroline has already been described (Busby, W. H. J. et al. 1987 J Biol Chem 262, 8532-8536, Bateman, R. C. J. et al. 2001 Biochemistry 40). However, the fact that EDTA has been shown to have an activating effect on QC catalysis suggested that inhibition by phenanthroline is not due to metal chelation (Busby, W. H. J. et al. 1987 J Biol Chem 262, 8532-8536, Bateman, R. C. J. et al. 2001 Biochemistry 40). Also, in addition to being inhibited by 1,10-phenanthroline, human QC catalyzed substrate cyclization was abolished in presence of dipicolinic acid and 8-hydroxyquinoline, other inhibitors of metalloenzymes. These chelators inhibited QC in a competitive and time-dependent manner, i.e., already competitively inhibited initial activity was found to be further reduced after prolonged incubation with the compounds (FIG. 18,19). Interestingly, EDTA did not show remarkable inhibition regardless of incubation time or under any conditions.

Human QC was almost completely inactivated after extensive dialysis against 5 mM 1,10-phenanthroline or 5 mM dipicolinic acid. After repeated dialysis overnight against chelator-free buffer solutions, QC activity was partially reactivated up to 50-60%. However, when dialyzed against buffers containing 1 mM EDTA, no reactivation was observed.

Near-total restoration of QC activity after inactivation by either dipicolinic acid or 1,10-phenanthroline was achieved by incubating the protein for 10 minutes with 0.5 mM ZnSO4 in presence of 0.5 mM EDTA (FIG. 20). Partial restoration of QC activity was similarly obtained using Co⁺⁺ and Mn⁺⁺ ions for reactivation. Even in the presence of 0.25 mM Zn⁺⁺ a reactivation up to 25% of the original activity was possible. No reactivation was observed applying Ni⁺⁺, Ca⁺⁺ or K⁺ ions. Similarly, incubation of fully active QC with these ions had no effect on the enzyme activity. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A screening method for the identification and selection of inhibitors of glutaminyl cyclase comprising the following steps: a) combining at least one candidate compound, a human glutaminyl cyclase, and a substrate of glutaminyl cyclase to form a reaction mixture; b) monitoring conversion of the substrate and/or measuring the residual glutaminyl cyclase activity; and c) calculating changes in the substrate conversion and/or enzyme activity of glutaminyl cyclase to identify inhibition of glutaminyl cyclase; wherein said substrate of glutaminyl cyclase comprises an N-terminal glutamate residue, and said substrate of glutaminyl cyclase comprises Aβ3-40/42.
 2. The screening method according to claim 1, wherein combining at least one candidate compound, glutaminyl cyclase, and a substrate of glutaminyl cyclase to form a reaction mixture comprises contacting the at least one candidate compound with glutaminyl cyclase under conditions which would permit binding there between.
 3. The screening method according to claim 2, wherein combining at least one candidate compound, glutaminyl cyclase, and a substrate of glutaminyl cyclase to form a reaction mixture comprises contacting the at least one candidate compound with glutaminyl cyclase under conditions which would permit binding there between; and adding a substrate of glutaminyl cyclase.
 4. The screening method according to claim 1, wherein calculating changes in the substrate conversion and/or enzyme activity of glutaminyl cyclase comprises calculating an inhibitor constant (Ki) for the at least one candidate compound.
 5. The screening method according to claim 1, further comprising selecting a candidate compound that decreases the conversion of the substrate and/or decreases the activity of glutaminyl cyclase.
 6. The screening method according to claim 5, further comprising selecting a candidate compound that inhibits the conversion of an N-terminal glutamic acid residue to a pyroglutamic acid residue of the Aβ3-40/42 substrate of glutaminyl cyclase.
 7. The screening method according to claim 5, wherein the selected candidate compound is a competitive inhibitor of glutaminyl cyclase.
 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the selected candidate compound has an inhibitor constant (K_(i)) value of about 0.0071 mM or below.
 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the selected candidate compound has a K_(i)-value in the range of from about 0.00041 mM to about 0.0071 mM.
 10. The screening method according to claim 5, wherein the selected candidate compound binds to an active-site bound metal ion of glutaminyl cyclase.
 11. The screening method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one candidate compound is a peptide, imidazole derivative, or L-histamine derivative.
 12. The screening method according to claim 11, wherein the imidazole derivative is substituted at the N-1 nitrogen atom of the imidazole residue.
 13. The screening method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate of glutaminyl cyclase is Aβ3-40/42.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the conversion of the substrate comprises fluorometrically monitoring the conversion of the substrate.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein measuring the residual glutaminyl cyclase activity comprises spectrophotmetrically determining glutaminyl cyclase activity.
 16. A screening method for the identification and selection of inhibitors of glutaminyl cyclase comprising the following steps: a) combining at least one candidate compound, a human glutaminyl cyclase, and a substrate of glutaminyl cyclase to form a reaction mixture; b) monitoring conversion of the substrate and/or measuring the residual glutaminyl cyclase activity; and c) calculating changes in the substrate conversion and/or enzyme activity of glutaminyl cyclase to identify inhibition of glutaminyl cyclase; d) selecting a candidate compound that inhibits the conversion of an N-terminal glutamic acid residue to a pyroglutamic acid residue of the substrate of glutaminyl cyclase, wherein the substrate of glutaminyl cyclase is Aβ3-40/42, and the selected candidate compound is a competitive inhibitor of glutaminyl cyclase with an inhibitor constant (Ki) value in the range of from about 0.00041 mM to about 0.0071 mM. 